Melissa Bailey Photo
After 17 years on patrol, including nine as a monthly driver for Mayor John DeStefano, Officer Dave Hartman debuted Friday as the city’s new police spokesman.
Hartman (pictured) held his inaugural press conference Friday afternoon at the Hill Substation at 410 Howard Ave., where police gathered to announce 20 drug-related arrests in the Hill neighborhood.
Hartman replaces Officer Joe Avery, who has been the public face of the police department for the past three years. Avery will have 20 years on the force in February; he’s worked with neighborhood block watches for 10 years. Chief Frank Limon said Avery is being reassigned to a desk job where he’ll deal with special projects, including the implementation of a pilot program where the police chief will give the state recommendations about whether bars should be allowed to renew liquor licenses.
The new appointment brings to the spokesman job an officer with a years-long direct personal relationship with Mayor John DeStefano. For the past nine years, Hartman has served as the mayor’s driver. That entails driving the mayor on out-of-town trips about once a month so the mayor can get work done, Hartman said. (The mayor drives himself, or has mayoral aides take the wheel, on shorter trips around town.)
Hartman has been assigned to a downtown patrol beat for the past eight years. He’s also part of the emergency services unit and is trained in hostage negotiation. He said he’ll continue his role as mayor driver as he takes his new appointment.
Limon (left) and Hoffman.
Chief Limon introduced Hartman on a good news day, four days before a four-way Democratic mayoral primary. Limon stood before a posterboard with the mug shots of 22 Hill residents for whom police obtained warrants. So far, 20 have been arrested, he announced Friday.
The arrests came at the end of a month-long investigation, which had “overt and covert” components, said Lt. Jeff Hoffman, who’s in charge of the Tactical Narcotics Unit.
The investigation began in June on the heels of a spike in gun violence in the neighborhood, which included two murders.
Police scoped out drug-dealing hot spots and obtained search and seizure warrants at six houses: 12 Stevens St., 154 Frank St., 58 Truman St., 467 Columbus Ave., 299 Greenwich Ave., and 172 Rosette St.
Cops came up with 22 arrest warrants, 20 of which have been served, Hoffman said.
Hill top cop Lt. Holly Wasilewski thanked Hill neighbors for cooperating in the probe.
Hill management team leader Johnny Dye and Rosette Street Pastor Glenn Reynolds attended the presser and applauded the police work.
“It’s a blessing,” Reynolds said of the arrests. He said he would keep an eye out for the final two suspects, whom he thought he’d seen just the night before.
Friday’s event was unusual: Police don’t generally hold press conferences about drug busts. Even rarer is to see the mayor appear at such conferences. Speaking at the conference, DeStefano applauded the department for “great work.”