Paul Bass Photo
Otoniel Reyes took the oath Monday afternoon as New Haven’s new police chief — and proceeded to turn the spotlight to Capt. Anthony Duff and other cops and community members.
Reyes, a son of New Haven’s Hill neighborhood in his 20th year as a city cop, took the oath and shared that spotlight before hundreds of people packing the City Hall atrium.
“We have a shared responsibility,” Reyes, who is 48 years old, told the crowd. “If one of us fails, we all fail.”
Before Reyes took the oath, Police Commissioner Evelise Ribeiro spoke of the “tremendous amount of pressure” he faced during his six months as acting chief. She cited the controversial shooting of a New Haven woman in Newhallville by a Hamden cop; and the Aug. 12 incident in which a man shot dead another man and shot and almost killed Capt. Duff, who had come upon the scene while off duty and confronted the shooter.
Reyes “remain[ed] focused, confident and stragegic” and “led from a position of strength,” Ribeiro said, while, seated directly behind her, Reyes held the hand of his wife Leslie.
Reyes’ mother Damaris Reyes pinned the badge on him …
… and then Mayor Toni Harp administered the oath. It was official.
In his subsequent address (in video, after a performance of the hymn “How Great Thou Art” by trumpeter Hermengildo Rodriguez), Reyes singled out a series of citizens who have successfully worked with police, such as …
… Daniel Hunt (at right in photo), who responded to the shooting deaths of several relatives by organizing get-to-know-you neighborhood walks with the cops. Reyes singled out retired Detective Stacy Spell, who now works with his former colleagues on the federal anti-gang-violence Project Longevity. He singled out Sean Reeves, who reacted to the shooting death of his son by counseling young men caught up in the criminal justice system. And he singled out Hill activist Leslie Radcliffe, who organized neighbors and worked with cops to turn Truman Street from one of the city’s most dangerous to one of its safest streets, the chief said. “It’s not about us,” Reyes told his officers present. “It’s about people like Leslie Radcliffe” who work in partnership with the police.
And it’s not just about the chief, Reyes continued. He singled out cops who have displayed life-saving heroism recently, such as Gregory Dash, who in the past year has saved two separate citizens from dying through quick use of a tourniquet. He singled out Lt. John Healy (pictured above with Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton), who captured a fleeing man who shot at a cop on Jan. 8. Healy saved the man’s life by applying pressure to a wound before emergency responders could arrive. “He honored his oath and saved [a] life,” Reyes said. “So when you lose your faith in the New Haven Police Department, please remember Lt. Healy.”
Paul Bass Photo
Reyes saved Capt. Duff for the crescendo, calling him forward to the lectern. He recalled the evening of Aug. 12 when Capt. Duff, a beloved community cop, was driving home after work and came upon the fatal shooting. “He reminded us that we’re never off duty,” Reyes said. “He didn’t think twice. He didn’t think that he didn’t have a bulletproof vest. He didn’t think that he was off duty. He put himself in harm’s way to protect a stranger. He almost lost his life.”
“When your trust in us is wavering, I ask that you remember Capt. Duff,” Reyes said. He closed by reminding all present that the “calling that we have is greater than ourselves.”
The crowd rose to its feet and erupted into applause. Reyes returned to his seat.
“Thank you,” said the emcee, ex-Chief Anthony Campbell, “for taking us to church.”