Police Vote 246 to 21 Against Chief

Inside police headquarters, cops sent a message: We have ​“no confidence” in Chief Frank Limon or his assistant chiefs. Meanwhile, protesters outside the building also expressed no confidence — in the entire department.

Cops sent their message in a 246 to 21 vote Thursday at police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. The results were announced just after 7:30 p.m. by union president Sgt. Lou Cavaliere.

By an overwhelming majority, they took a non-binding vote of ​“no confidence” in the Chicago trio at the top of the department, Chief Limon and Assistant Chiefs Thomas Wheeler and Tobin Hensgen. The balloting took place at 1 Union Ave. between 6:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Read background stories on the controversy here and here.

“I’m going to continue to do the job I was hired to do,” Chief Limon said after the vote. He said that he still has confidence in his officers, despite their apparent lack of confidence in him.

Rank-and-file grumbling about Limon prompted the police union to call for the vote. Union brass said rank-and-file demanded the vote because of outrage over Limon’s management style — allegedly eviscerating morale by denying due rights, moving slowly in arming them with new rifles, and failing to communicate. The chief’s supporters, including black community activists who rallied at 1 Union Ave. Monday, charge the union with resisting needed changes Limon has started bringing to the department since arriving last April.

The vote result is a clear indication that dissatisfaction with department leadership is widespread and goes beyond just the union heads, Cavaliere said. Out of a total union membership of 441 officers, 267 voted. Cavaliere called that a strong turnout.

“We’re hoping the mayor will intervene,” Cavaliere said. ​“He’s the boss.”

The mayor needs to call the chiefs in and order them to make changes that will improve department morale, which is at an all-time low, Cavaliere charged. If the chiefs can’t improve the department, they should go back to Chicago, he said.

“You can’t identify any one issue to cause today’s problem,” Cavaliere said. Among the contributing factors are allegations that the chief has refused to address grievances in the department, has dressed-down officers while denying them union representation, and has delayed handing out new AR-15 rifles and bulletproof vests.

The department administration is disconnected from the rank and file cops, Cavaliere said before the vote. The chiefs do not appear at line-ups often enough and do not communicate with the officers well, he said.

Richard Gudis, an attorney for AFSCME Council 15, which represents Local 530, the police union, handed out a letter outlining several reasons that cops have no confidence in Limon and his assistant chiefs. Limon ​“has not demonstrated a command presence and has failed to build on the strategies necessary to manage” the department, the letter states. Such a ​“lack of ability and vision” has become ​“a distraction” to officers that is reducing their safety and the safety of New Haveners, the letter states.

Reached by phone from Chicago, where he is visiting his family, Chief Limon said he is going to stay the course. ​“My goal is very clear,” he said. It’s to increase public safety, improve community trust, and professionalize the police force, he said.

On the subject of better communication, Limon said he is open to ​“any type of improvements.” He said he has already sought to communicate with his officers by holding six ​“open forums” where cops could come and chat with the chiefs. He also hired a consultant to improve communication inside and outside the department, he said.

Technology improvements could improve communication, Limon said. ​“Here’s a department that doesn’t have an email address for every officer in the system.”

The vote is a part of an adjustment to new leadership, Limon said. ​“When you come in, it takes a while for people to get used to your style of management.”

“I have a lot of confidence in the department,” he said. ​“I respect them [the officers] for what they do day in and day out.”

Taking A Page From Egypt

Earlier in the day, as cops cast their ballots inside, protesters outside also expressed no confidence — in the entire department.

While they did not takes sides on the ongoing vote inside, the group of 15 protesters outside said they have no confidence in the police department’s ability to investigate complaints of police brutality and no confidence in police handling new assault rifles promised to them. And they argued that that issue is connected to the question of the police chief’s performance.

The protesters gathered at 5 p.m. on the steps of police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. They hoisted signs saying ​“Where is the accountability?”, laid out photographs of people who have allegedly been beaten by cops, and held up a large banner reading ​“NHPD Guilty.”

Some of the activists, from a group called New Haven Against Police Brutality, displayed ​“Wanted” posters with a picture of Officer Dennis O’Connell, who has been the subject of nine Internal Affairs investigations into claims that he has beaten people without cause.

Several of the protesters mentioned the ongoing protests in Egypt as a possible inspiration for New Haveners to take to the streets to demand change in the police department. John Lugo, one of the organizers, added that he was not in any way advocating violence.

The protest kicked off just before 5 p.m., with chants of ​“From the Hill to the ​‘Ville to City Hall, police brutality affects us all.” Unlike a previous similar protest, the activists did not come armed with a seasonal song of protest.

Lugo (with bullhorn in photo above) was one of several who took up a bullhorn to address the group. He took the opportunity to denounce the police union as ​“defending these thugs” on the force.

He was referring to this Independent article, in which police union head Cavaliere said that protesters are protecting the ​“thugs” who ​“live in their neighborhoods.”

“The only difference between them and the criminals is they have blue uniforms,” Lugo said.

“It is time for us to take to the streets all the time,” until there are changes in the department, Lugo said.

“Maybe we should take a lesson from Egypt,” said Maurice ​“Blest” Peters (pictured) when he took the bullhorn. ​“Turn this town upside down.”

Lugo later said it has been inspiring ​“seeing the people in Egypt being on the streets and basically putting the country upside down. This is a lesson we have to learn.”

Lugo acknowledged that things have gotten bloody and violent in Egypt, with people throwing rocks and fighting with improvised weapons. But ​“through history” social change has rarely come about through ​“peaceful processes. There’s always been some blood,” he said.

“I’m not advocating violence,” Lugo said. But people need to get out and protest on the streets to see real change. ​“No rocks.”

A Referendum On The Mayor?

As he left police headquarters Thursday morning at the start of a day-long vote, Officer Mark Taylor said the true candidate’s name didn’t appear on the ballot: Mayor John DeStefano. Taylor (pictured) joined other officers at Thursday morning’s shift change at police headquarters as the first ballots were cast for the referendum.

At the morning shift change, cops were reluctant to give on-the-record opinions about the no-confidence vote against Limon. But the clear sense was the initial vote wasn’t going well for the chief. ​“No all the way,” said one veteran officer. ​“This chief is not trustworthy; he’s sneaky.” When asked for specifics, he referred to an incident in which two cops were called in to Limon’s office and not allowed to bring a union rep with them.

“I would say over 90 percent [of union members] will vote no,” he added. He said he’s less interested in seeing the chief leave the department than in sending a message: ​“We’re showing we’re not happy with the administration; we want him to change his ways.”

“I’m with everyone else,” another officer piped in.

The man who brought Limon to New Haven — Mayor DeStefano — also came up in conversation. The mayor’s recent calls to revise binding arbitration rules and to revisit police pension benefits have elicited widespread grumbling in the department. (Read about that here and here.) There’s talk of widespread retirements before the current union contract expires June 30. The pension fund’s value has plummeted in the recession.

“The vote really doesn’t matter,” Officer Taylor said. ​“People are really angry with the mayor. He’s trying to jam us up” with demands for givebacks. 

Sgt. Anthony Santarcangelo (pictured against the wall of fallen heroes) spoke about the chiefs he’s seen come and go in his 35 years on the force: Ed Morrone, Biagio DiLieto, William Farrell, Nick Pastore, Mel Wearing, Francisco Ortiz, Stephanie Redding, James Lewis, and Limon. ​“I’ve seen it all,” he said. Asked about his favorites, he listed DiLieto, Farrell and Lewis. ​“They loved the city and they loved the police department, and they respected the rank and file officers and supervisors.”

Santarcangelo said he hadn’t thought about retiring until he learned that DeStefano is demanding givebacks in contract negotiations. ​“I’m going to have to leave this June” to maintain benefits, he said. More than a quarter of the force may do the same, he predicted.

The mood was upbeat as officers walked briskly in and out of police headquarters at the shift change. They joked with each other and with Michele Kearney (pictured), who was making a valiant effort to wash the floor even as cops were tracking in slush from the ​“wintry mix” outside police headquarters. She laughed and told them to come right in.

Kearney is not eligible to vote Thursday. But she said she has observed what the cops are feeling.

“There’s been a lot of tension ever since he’s [Limon] been here. There is not a lot of morale here,” she said. ​“The last chief [Lewis] was more understanding of what needs to be done. From what I have seen he wanted to hear their opinions and try to work with them. This one here [Limon] seems like he is working against them and not with them.”