For 30 Minutes, They Would Not Be Moved

A group of 10 ministers pressing concerns about racial justice entered CIty Hall for a sit-in — then left after praying and singing inside a mayoral conference room for 30 minutes.

The clergy members, plus community activist Rodney Williams, began by holding a scheduled press conference outside City Hall at 10:30 a.m.

Organized by the Rev. Boise Kimber of the New Haven Clergy Association, they said they were seeking answers from the mayor about the city’s unsolved murder rates, the handling of a principal who used the n‑word, and a New Haven 911 dispatch that wrongfully claimed the Kevin Jiang murder was committed by a Black man, a bulletin that was heard by a North Haven cop who had stopped the suspect (who happened to be Asian) and then let him go.

“It is insulting to our community that every time a white person is killed in this city we feel as though it is a black person who has done it,” Kimber said. ​“We have been mistreated while this mayor has been in this seat.” 

Kimber said the police department ​“did not do their due diligence when it came to Mr. Pan” who was arrested for the murder of Jiang.

“It is important to us to know why 911, the police department, put such an erroneous statement out not even knowing what had taken place,” said Kimber.

Pastor D’Hati Burgess spoke about his niece Kiana Brown, who would be 21 years old in 11 days if not gunned down last year.

“It is senseless that we don’t have any answers at this time,” he said.

As the press conference ended, Kimber declared: ​“We’re going to go upstairs to see if the mayor is available!”

“If he’s not available, we’re going to sit around and wait on him!”

The group entered through the front door — only to be stopped by a security guard at the bottom of the stairs, at a station erected during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The mayor’s office is closed to the public,” he told the group.

Why? Kimber asked

Because of Covid protocols, the guard answered.

The guard called upstairs — and city Chief Administrative Officer Sean Matteson came down.

“It’s not closed,” Matteson clarified. ​“We’re just doing things by appointment.”

Matteson escorted the group inside. He informed the group the mayor was out of the building, at meetings, for at least two hours.

He offered to seat the group in a meeting room outside the mayor’s office. Kimber requested a meeting room inside the office suite. Matteson complied, ushered them into a mayoral conference room — then left.

The group remained in the room for a half hour. They sang, ​“We Shall Overcome.” They sang, ​“We Shall Not Be Moved.”

“We ask for the power of God to change the unchangeable,” they prayed.

After 30 minutes, they decided to leave. They promised to return to get answers.

“We’re going to keep on marching and sitting in,” said Church of God and Saints of Christ Rev. Jerald Barber. ​“And keep shedding light on wrong.”

Reached by phone, Mayor Justin Elicker said that once he learned about the sit-in, he left a voice message with Kimber and offered to arrange a meeting.

At the time of the impromptu visit, Elicker said, he was meeting with his appointed interim police chief, Renee Dominguez, to discuss efforts to combat crime in the city.

Elicker invited Kimber and others interested community members to join the city’s neighborhood walk-throughs after every city homicide to check in with New Haveners and provide support from the city, clergy, law enforcement, and the Yale Child Study Center.

Asked about the error in the Jiang murder case, Elicker said call-center management has spoken with the dispatcher. ” ​“We can’t know why the employee made that mistake,” Elicker said. He said the city is making proactive efforts to avoid bias by working with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) to address potential bias in the city government.

As for the Brennan Rogers case, Elicker stated that as a member of the Board of Education, he voted to demote Roblee at the recommendation of the schools superintendent in order to ensure the former principal didn’t go unpunished. ​“What was said by Ms. Roblee was deeply offensive and I do understand that,” he said.

Elicker said the police department puts all of its resources toward solving each and every homicide in the city. He added that there has been a recent increase in walking beats, doubled the number of street outreach workers, and established a shooting task force.

Watch the full press conference below.