Markeshia Ricks Photo
Vazquez: Back to his roots.
Assistant Police Chief Al Vazquez and Capt. Julie Johnson will soon have new titles: Officer Vazquez and “Capt. Mom.”
The two are retiring from the New Haven force.
Vazquez’s retirement officially takes effect June 30; his last working day will be June 10. A steady, respected by-the-book cop, Vazquez, 47, has served on the New Haven force for 24 and a half years. He has worked as a detective for much of that time, moving up through the ranks to handle drug cases and homicides before moving into the chiefs’ suite.
As soon as he leaves New Haven, Vazquez plans to begin walking a patrol beat in another Connecticut community. He said he has no concerns about moving back to the ranks of the supervised.
“For me, it’s time to make a change. But I don’t want to leave what I love to do, which is to be a police officer, helping people in their dire need and making a community a better place for everyone,” Vazquez said.
“I feel comfortable leaving [New Haven] at this stage of the game, because I know the department is much better than when I came on. I’m leaving a department in much better hands and much better condition.”
Next up?: Cain (second from the left) and Reyes (center) at the police department’s awards ceremony Wednesday night.
Among the cops believed to be under consideration to replace Vazquez as assistant chief are Lt. Otoniel Reyes, who oversees the detective division under Assistant Chief Archie Generoso; and internal affairs chief Det. Lt. Rachael Cain.
Johnson: Looked out for kids.
Julie Johnson’s immediate plans are to spend more time with her 9 and 11-year-old chidren after she retires June 3. (She also has a 22-year-old daughter.)
“I think I’m going to be captain mom for a little while. I have no plans. I’m going to take the summer off, and see what will happen from there,” said Johnson, who is married to police Lt. Herb Johnson. She said being a cop makes it tough enough to be home with kids; imagine a household with two cops.
Johnson has served 20 years in the department, along the way overseeing special investigations, the unit handling domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault cases. She oversaw the unit during the investigation into the “East Coast rapist” case. Before the country was talking about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, Johnson set up a “drop box” for unused medications at 1 Union Ave. to try to keep them away from kids; a substance abuse prevention group named her a “community champion” for that effort.
Lt. Makiem Miller also is retiring to take a job as police chief of Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C. Read a previous story about that here and click on or download the above sound file to hear an interview Miller did Wednesday on WNHH radio’s “Urban Talk Radio.”