New Haven police assigned their sharpest-eyed shooters to a new mission — and they came back with arresting images.
They weren’t looking for lawbreakers. They were looking for new ways to connect with New Haveners.
The mission: The police department has overhauled its social-media approach and launched these new Facebook and Instagram pages.
They assigned two detectives with well-honed photography hobbies, Jeremy Cordero and Martin Podsiad, to start contributing figures as part of an emerging department social-media team to be overseen by Capt. Rose Dell. They’ve put out a call department-wide for volunteers interested in contributing on an ongoing basis (on top of, not in lieu of, their regular policing duties).
“We’re starting over” with social media as part of a broader effort to “start over” in how the department communicates and otherwise engages with the community, said new Police Chief Karl Jacobson.
That would include getting better information out, faster, to people, as well as helping the public get to know officers better.
The first week’s posts include mini-profiles of officers on the beat, including East Shore C Squad officer Lindsey Neto (pictured at the top of this article) …
… and second-generation Officer Ismail Abdussabur.
“I thought this was pics from a movie,” marveled one commenter below the Abdussabur post.
As the new team gears, the sites will also feature department press releases, updates on ongoing cases, and alerts about road closings, said police spokesperson Officer Scott Shumway.