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After standing silently by Mayor John DeStefano’s side at a press conference Thursday, Police Chief Frank Limon broke with the official line and denounced how 16 of his cops lost their jobs.
“I don’t like the way it was handled,” Limon told reporters in the City Hall atrium as soon as the press conference ended. “They sacrifice a lot to come on this job. They respond to dangerous calls every day. I don’t think they were treated with a lot of respect.
“I understand that there are fiscal constraints. But remember these are people we’re talking about. I don’t think we respected them with one day’s notice.”
He stopped short of saying the city shouldn’t have laid off the 16 cops at all. He said he objected to the officers learning of their fates with little notice.
Limon also claimed he worked behind the scenes to stop the layoffs. He came under criticism at a police rally Thursday for allegedly not visibly opposing the layoffs. The chief also recently lost a no-confidence vote by the rank-and-file.
Thursday he sought to position himself as the rank-and-file’s champion.
“I did fight behind the scenes. … I’m not taking any more layoffs” in the next round of budget cuts, Limon vowed.
“This is probably one of the hardest days in my 33-year career. I’m not a very happy person today. … This is my house. The police department is my house. I’m a cop. Kicking 16 people out of the house — we’ve got to find them all places to live.”
Limon said he fielded calls from other Connecticut police departments Thursday where a total of 25 cop jobs are open. He said he hopes to help all 16 cops land new positions.
Limon was asked about some Independent readers’ complaints about the protest march by cops from Union Avenue to City Hall Thursday morning, tying up traffic and employing cruisers and sirens. Limon was asked if cops had permission for the action and if anyone was on duty.
“I’m not going to talk about that,” he responded. “I’m going to talk about respecting their emotions today. They were dealt a blow. I feel like I’m a father and these are my kids. I’m going to fight for my kids.”