Fire Deputy Promoted, Right Before Court

Herschel Wadley’s name was on two agendas Tuesday: for a 9:30 a.m. promotion ceremony at fire headquarters, followed by a 10 a.m. court hearing in an assault case.

He became deputy chief at the first. He was the defendant in the second.

At the first meeting, held partly online and partly in-person at 952 Grand Ave., the Board of Fire Commissioners unanimously approved promoting Wadley from his former role as battalion chief to the higher rank of deputy chief.

Wadley, a 25-year veteran of the New Haven Fire Department, was one of five city firefighters to be promoted during Tuesday’s commission meeting, which also saw Terrence Rountree appointed and confirmed to the role of assistant chief of operations. (See more below.)

Assistant Corporation Counsel Michelle Duprey swore Wadley into his new leadership role Tuesday morning.

No commissioners or department personnel spoke up during the meeting about Wadley’s second obligation after the 9:30 a.m. promotion ceremony.

That was the 10 a.m. hearing in Milford state court in an assault case that dated back to late 2018.

In November of that year, Wadley was arrested and charged with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct for allegedly grabbing a Horwitz Uniforms worker by the back of the neck and shaking her during a dispute in the West Haven store over a pair of work boots.

Wadley allegedly sought to use a department voucher to buy a $125 pair of boots that was not on the city department’s approved vendor list. When rebuffed by the Horwitz employee, according to the arrest affidavit reported on by the New Haven Register in 2019, ​“Wadley pushed [the worker’s] temple area. It was then that Wadley came up from behind and grabbed her by the back of the neck, with his right hand, and clamped down and squeezed her neck and began shaking her neck side to side, saying, ​‘I thought we were friends,’ and continued squeezing her neck.”

Reached by phone later Tuesday morning, Wadley said that the outcome of Tuesday’s court hearing was that the case ​“was dismissed.” He did not have to show up in person at Tuesday’s court hearing, so he instead spent the morning at the fire department promotion ceremony.

“I don’t even want to talk about that,” he said about the court case. ​“The past is the past. I’m excited about the promotion and looking forward to the challenge of running the city as deputy chief.”

A clerk at the Milford state courthouse confirmed Wadley has completed his probation and the case was closed out Tuesday morning.

After Tuesday morning’s commission meeting, Fire Commission Chair Steven Cousin (pictured) said that deputy chief is a tested position in the department. Rountree and Wadley scored highest on the last test for that spot. When Rountree was promoted from deputy chief to assistant chief Tuesday, Cousin said, that freed up the deputy chief spot for the next person in line: that is, Wadley.

“We have to support the chief’s recommendation,” Cousin said about voting in support of Wadley’s promotion. Chief John Alston and fire union President Patrick Cannon both declined to comment for this story.

One outspoken opponent to Wadley’s promotion, meanwhile, was the Horwitz Uniforms worker whom he allegedly assaulted back in 2018.

On Monday, she wrote a letter to the mayor, the Board of Fire Commissioners, Alston and Assistant Chief Justin McCarthy.

“It has come to my attention that [Wadley] is being considered for promotion to deputy chief,” the victim wrote in that letter. ​“When I received news of this I was filled with disbelief, frustration, sadness, and lastly anger. For the last two and a half years, I have tried to work through the events that took place that day and changed my life forever.”

Wadley is no longer allowed to go to the West Haven uniform store; the department sends a ​“liaison” in his place. The victim wrote that she has been ​“continually revictimized” by Wadley’s continued employment by the department and, now, by his promotion.

She wrote that honor has been ​“a staple of the New Haven Fire Department, and where is the honor in giving someone a promotion while they are currently on probation in the Connecticut judicial system?”

Wadley declined to comment on the victim’s letter opposing his promotion.

Rountree OK’d As New Assistant Chief

Tuesday morning’s Fire Commission meeting also saw the unanimous approval of Rountree to the role of assistant chief of operations.

That position has been vacant since February, when former Assistant Chief Mark Vendetto retired. With Vendetto’s retirement, that assistant chief position is no longer in the fire union. The department also recently appointed Justin McCarthy to the role of assistant chief of administration.

Rountree did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the publication time of this article.

Alston said that Rountree first joined the department in 1997, and has worked as a fire instructor and, most recently, as deputy chief.

“It was a very tough decision,” Alston said. ​“We had four persons apply for the position. All of them are incredible fire personnel.”

Alston praised Rountree for his many certifications, including in incident management, hazmat, and vehicle extraction. He also spoke highly of Rountree’s ​“attention to detail.”

Also on Tuesday, Leonard Wishart Jr. was promoted from captain to battalion chief, Micahel Demennato was promoted from lieutenant to captain, and Timothy Carney was promoted from firefighter to lieutenant.

Rountree and his family attended Tuesday’s commission vote and subsequent promotion ceremony in person.

Fire union President Pat Cannon and Vice-President Daniel Del Prete also congratulated Rountree and the four other city firefighters honored on Tuesday for their promotions.

“We advocated for the Operation Chief’s position to be filled since it became vacant several months ago,” they said in a statement texted to the Independent. ​“We still have many essential positions that need to be filled. We look for the Elicker Administration and Chief Alston to address the concerns we have in regards to positions being filled and all public safety issues being addressed.”