For the sixth time in two and a half years, the Whalley-Edgewood- Beaver Hills (WEB) district is saying good-bye to a top cop and preparing to break in a new one.
Sgt. Reginald Sutton (pictured) leaves the post of WEB district manager Sunday to assume a new assignment in the police narcotics unit.
He’s not alone. The guard is changing Sunday at four of the city’s 10 police districts as Chief Frank Limon puts his stamp on the department with a high-level shake-up. (Read about that shake-up here.)
Limon said he expects to announce the four districts’ new top cops on Thursday or Friday.
In the other three districts besides WEB, popular lieutenants are leaving for new assignments after years as top cop. The neighbors wish them well. East Shore’s Lt. Jeff Hoffman will take over the department’s narcotics unit. Fair Haven’s Lt. Luiz Casanova (pictured) will become an afternoon shift commander downtown. (Read about fond farewells he received here.) Dixwell’s Tony Duff will run the identification unit in what Limon said for now is a temporary assignment.
“I think Lt. Duff deserves [the promotion] because he’s great,” said the president of the Dixwell management team, Roxanne Condon. “But I’ll miss him because he’s been really good at community policing in the neighborhood. He knows everyone and can communicate with all parties.”
Reggie Sutton was getting to know the neighbors in WEB, too, perhaps the city’s most vocal and active management team. The When he took over in January, he was the fifth district manager in two years. The position has become a way station of sorts.
That concerns neighborhood organizer Eliezer Greer.
“Clearly, District 10 [WEB} is the stopover for a promotion or retirement,” Greer remarked.
Chief Limon said this week that he’s looking to “bring back community policing to the neighborhoods” with the broader shake-up, including a directive for officers to spend more time on walking beats.