Markeshia Ricks Photo
Griffin at fateful forum.
Remarks by New Haven’s new top prosecutor have the city’s mayor wondering about his “cultural competence.”
Mayor Toni Harp discussed the matter during an appearance Thursday on WNHH radio’s “Mayor Monday” program. (The show is airing on days other than Mondays in October because of religious and civic holidays.)
Harp was reacting to this story about a community-policing conference held Tuesday at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Patrick Griffin, New Haven’s state’s attorney, responsible for prosecuting state criminal cases, participated in the discussion. He responded to concerns about cops shooting unarmed black civilians by comparing the problem to black-on-black crime and the need to combat a “no snitching” mentality in some neighborhoods.
That outraged conference participants, who called it a false equation that neglects, among other differences, the fact that the government pays and arms cops to protect the public. One also pointed out that cops have their own “no snitching” policy that protects them from prosecution for wrongly shooting civilians to death. Speakers raised concern that comments like Griffin’s contribute to the state’s failure to prosecute wayward cops.
“I’m hoping that this is just lack of cultural competence — and that he gets some,” Harp remarked on the WNHH program. She also noted that she has yet to meet Griffin, whose decisions play an important role in the relationship between law enforcement and the community. She had a productive relationship with Griffin’s longtime predecessor, Michael Dearington, she said.
“He hasn’t made an appointment to see me. I’m the mayor. I don’t know what that’s about,” Harp said.
In a comment posted to the original article on Griffin’s remarks, the Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee of Immanuel Baptist Church called for the prosecutor’s resignation: “Given the power that prosecutors have over which cases go to trial and how, we must realize that this man is a danger to this (or any other) community in that position considering the perspective he holds in equating Citizen crime with Police crime. I feel VERY unsafe with this man in office.”
Lesson: Tackle Morale
On the program, Harp also reflected on three recent setbacks for her administration: the driving out of a police chief, a schools superintendent, and an acting fire chief whom she had supported.
She said in retrospect she should have taken morale problems in those chiefs’ departments more seriously, sooner.
“That was the lesson for me as the leader of the community,” Harp said. “When there are serious morale problems in those departments, I ought to take notice. It really is the leader’s responsibility to deal with those problems and try to solve them. A real leader does that. In each of those departments, just understanding where we need to go, setting a vision. [And] you’ve got to find a way to get all the people in these departments to work together.”
Asked whether all departments always have some unhappy members, she responded yes, but: “They can get so unhappy you can’t lead them any more. And that’s what happened.”
Click on or download the above audio to listen to the full episode of WNHH radio’s “Mayor Monday,” which also touched on economic development, paintball, and clowns.
Today’s episode was made possible with the support of Gateway Community College and Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C.