3 New Captains Sworn In At City Hall

The upper ranks of the New Haven Police Department are just a little more filled out, as three former lieutenants were officially sworn in as captains.

Those three newly minted captains are David Zannelli, John Healy, and Rose Dell.

All three former lieutenants were unanimously approved for promotion in June by the Board of Police Commissioners.

On Thursday afternoon on the second floor of City Hall, the New Haven Police Department welcomed the trio into a rank that has been vacant since former Capt. Anthony Duff retired earlier this year.

Interim Police Chief Renee Dominguez said the last time a captain test was given was in 2014, and the last time a captain was promoted from that list was in 2016.

“We are a police department who are doing more with less, no one knows this more than the three of you,” said Dominguez.

In each of their previous roles the three veteran cops would often give up family time and take on extra responsibilities to support the department, Dominguez added before talking briefly about each captain.

When Dominguez took on her role as chief, she said, Dell offered to go wherever the chief needed to help. Dell began at the NHPD in 2008. She’s a trained accident reconstruction officer who has investigated over 200 injury cases.

In 2013, Dell was promoted to sergeant. In her work, Dell was an integral part of the research, development, and implementation of the department’s body worn camera program.

Dominguez described Healy as passionate and ​“spirited.” Dominguez and Healy are one police academy class apart and have spent nearly their entire careers together, Dominguez said. She shared a short story about competing in an Olympic-distance triathlon with Healy about eight years ago. He said at the time he was not physically prepared, but agreed to participate anyway.

“He obviously went on to smoke us in that race. But that’s John. Whenever given a challenge, he accepts it head on with the confidence and command presence of a true leader,” Dominguez said. ​“He knows no other way than barreling along at 100 mph regardless of the task at hand.” 

Dominguez said her first interaction with Zannelli was on Winchester Avenue at the police substation.

At the time Zannelli was a police officer in Rhode Island and thinking about transferring to the NHPD for family reasons. Zannelli sought out Dominguez’s opinion and asked her if she though transferring to New Haven was a ​“wise choice.”

“I think standing before me today, being promoted to captain, means that you can be confident that you made the right decision about 12 years ago,” Dominguez said.

The captains’ families, department colleagues of all ranks, members of the Board of Alders, and members of the Board of Police Commissioners joined the Thursday ceremony.

Before administering the city’s oath of office, Mayor Justin Elicker thanked the captains’ families for supporting them, and the captains themselves for their years of dedication to the city.

“You are an example of what makes us all proud about our city,” Elicker said.

Watch the full ceremony below.