Courtney Luciana photo.
Stacy Spell with a 2020 Project Longevity Award.
“It’s not just the New Haven Police Department, it’s not just parole or probation, and it’s not just certain community members,” Stacy Spell said. “We are about saving lives. I know it seems that we are undergoing some challenges right now, but let us do what we always do — brush ourselves off and get back in the fight!”
Spell, a retired city homicide detective and the head of Project Longevity New Haven, joined Police Chief Otoniel Reyes and Assistant Chief Karl Jacobson as he made that speech Tuesday during the Third Annual Project Longevity Awards Ceremony, held at the city police academy on Wintergreen Avenue.
The event saw local law enforcement leaders pass out awards to 15 community members that reflected the community violence prevention program’s mission.
Project Longevity New Haven (PL-NH) serves is a gun violence reduction initiative that has been active in the city since 2012. It aims to bring together collaborative forces including law enforcement, non-traditional leaders, and nonprofits to keep offenders out of the system and off of the streets.
Spell said that rising gun violence this year is still lower than back in 2011, when the city ended the year with 34 homicides. In 2017, there were seven homicides. This year so far, there have been 18.
“That’s still one too many,” Spell said. “This year we’re at 18 homicides and that’s still less than 34, but we still have more months to go. We have seen a drastic change, but it’s not enough when you have young Black and brown men losing their lives every week.”
Assistant Chief Karl Jacobson (left) and Chief Otoniel Reyes (right).
Reyes praised the awardees for their commitment to reducing violence in the city by forging closer relationships between police and the community.
“This is not just any award but it’s critical to the community. It’s that mindset that we’re not just here for the public, but to rebuild. It’s not about enforcement but investment, and today we’re investing in our relationship with the community.”
Johnson with his daughters, Autumn and Paris.
Roger Johnson, an ex-offender who was charged at age 18 with armed robbery and is now a reverend, humbly said that he didn’t feel as if he deserved the award.
“With my record, I used to have a distrust for law enforcement. I came to the realization that the New Haven Police Department was doing more for the city than many of the organizations that were criticizing the police.”
Johnson said that he had a message for those who hold a similar background as himself.
“There’s going to be good cops and there’s going to be bad cops. There’s going to be good environments and circumstances, and bad ones,” Johnson said. “Your success is always going to be based on what’s inside of you.”
“I’m so proud of my father,” Autumn said, pictured on the left. “It’s so long overdue. He’s been doing this kind of work for years.”
Connie Cooper, from Newtown, whom Spell refers to as being “woke,” said she became involved in Project Longevity after witnessing one too many lives lost to gun violence, especially Black and brown lives, as her husband worked as a nurse administrator at Connecticut Juvenile Training School.
“That was my first purpose in joining but then a second purpose arose recently,” Cooper said. “George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many to list all of their names. Project Longevity has given us the blueprint in Newtown as we take on the endeavor of recognizing racial issues throughout the community by forming a commission and asking residents to recognize first that you have a problem, then study it, then act on it.”
NHPD stands as the audience of the PL-NH awards.
Project Longevity has formed close ties with both national and international agencies, different levels of government, schools, community organizations, community outreach, and more. Probation Supervisor Joseph Bunnell said the program allowed his team to achieve their goal of keeping the city safe. Additionally, it’s kept both his and others families safe.
“I think what people need to keep in mind is that yes, it’s been a rough year,” Bunnell said. “You can’t argue that the violence hasn’t increased but there’s still people working daily to do their part in trying to stop that violence and keeping the city that we love.”
Bunnell’s wife, Chantelle, who is a probation officer in Derby, said that she has noticed through her husband’s strides that PL-NH is working outside of the box.
“Seeing him win the award is amazing because he works so hard. The work that he’s doing is not to be punitive but it’s to help people so that they don’t go back to incarceration,” Chantelle said.
Assistant Chief Jacobson pointed out probation officer Eileen Morano’s work as an example of what it takes to become recognized for the Project Longevity award.
“They’ll take calls and they don’t get paid for those calls,” Jacobson said. “They don’t get overtime at all. I called Eileen on Friday at midnight before and we talked on the phone until four in the morning. She doesn’t get paid for that. It’s a commitment to save people’s lives and try to do everything possible rather than put them in jail which is different for the police, probation, and parole.”
Eileen Morano.
Morano said that the collaborative work of PL-NH and NHPD has set an example for how city leaders can bring a mission to a reality.
“Many of our clients have mentioned more than once that the genuine concern that Project Longevity has made them feel not like felons, but human beings,” Morano said. “They don’t experience that feeling often and to have law enforcement validate them is priceless.”
Below is a list of recipients of the Project Longevity Award Tuesday.
NHPD District Manager Lt. John Healy Jr.
NHPD Sgt. Christopher Cameron
NHPD Det. Elizabeth White
Parole Supervisor Marvin Anderson
Parole Officer Emily Zarotney
Parole Officer Frank Vieira
NHFPL Librarian Marian Huggins
Probation Supervisor Joseph Bunnell
Probation Officer Eileen Marano
Connie Cooper
Timothy Thomas
Christian Community Action Agency CEO Reverend Bonita Grubbs
Department of Correction Capt. Craig Burnett
Reverend Roger Johnson
Gateway Community College, Director of Security, Sgt. Cary Broderick