New Haven Independent

Ortiz Answers The Question Of The Hour

by Paul Bass | March 19, 2007 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Why did he do it? Why did he transfer Lt. Billy White from his post running the police department’s narcotics unit, then turn around and reinstate him? Police Chief Francisco Ortiz (pictured) Monday offered an explanation for a question that has become central to the fallout from the department’s theft and bribery scandal.

The FBI last week arrested White and an allegedly gambling-prone detective as part of a broader investigation into criminal activity in the narc unit. Cllck here to read an FBI agent’s 57-page affidavit detailing the allegedly sordid tale. Click here to read about one of the many alleged episodes, the “Estupido Caper.”

It turned out that two years ago, in January 2005, Chief Ortiz transferred White from his post. Then, after meeting with Mayor John DeStefano, Ortiz abruptly changed course. He rescinded the transfer.

That fateful decision has come back to haunt the department now in light of the FBI probe and last week’s arrest.

It also has some black activists charging that DeStefano interceded to protect White — and therefore that DeStefano is accountable for the subsequent scandal in the unit. (They do not charge that DeStefano personally profited or had any personal involvement in corrupt acts.) They call “preposterous” the notion that DeStefano, a hands-on manager who appoints the chief and the police commission, had nothing to do with the White reversal. In return DeStefano has accused one of the black leaders of inventing a story as part of a “shakedown” for a city contract. (Click here and here to read all about that.)

Ortiz has stepped forward to take full responsibility for White keeping the post. He has repeatedly said it was his decision, not DeStefano’s.

In a conversation Monday, Ortiz detailed what his thinking was, and what role DeStefano did play.

“I’m not gonna be a coward about this” and pass the blame, Ortiz said. “I learned some lessons along the way.”

Why He Transferred White

At the time, Ortiz was transferring a host of cops, not just White, as part of a shake-up. The rank and file reacted in protest. One of the complaints: Ortiz’s methods. He would send the transferred cop a notice on Friday afternoon, effective Monday, without a personal meeting.

Mayor DeStefano and Ortiz met to discuss the uproar. According to both of them, the discussion centered purely on Ortiz’s handling of the transfers, not on who should or shouldn’t be transferred.

Ortiz said he decided to transfer White because of a host of community complaints about the unit’s conduct. The complaints didn’t have to do with corruption. They had to do with gunshots, car chases, and other aggressive behavior by the unit’s members, including the spraying of a Waverly Street playground where kids were playing.

The White transfer came “on the heels of eight officer-involved shootings in a brief period of time, three of which were fatal,” Ortiz said. “I was at a public meeting discussing a previous shooting. While I was there at Hillhouse, the shooting came in on Waverly… So there was a lot of concern. I was looking at tactics, policies and procedures. And it wasn’t a secret I wasn’t happy with the way things were going. Billy’s team was involved in a couple of those shootings. I disciplined some people. I was concerned about officer safety, community safety, use of force, arrests at all costs. All of that was culminating together.

“I said, ‘We’ve got to do some things.’ … There were too many car accidents. Too many police pursuits. Too many injuries. Too many incidents of use of force. … I was definitely interested in transferring Billy.”

Why He Un-Transferred White

At the time of White’s transfer, Ortiz was in Puerto Rico for his grandmother’s funeral. He phoned in White’s transfer.

The rank-and-file organized a no-confidence vote in the chief. When a concerned DeStefano came to see Ortiz, “we talked about the process,” Ortiz said. “It was clear he was as frustrated with the way I was handling things, transferring people on Fridays, giving people on discipline on Fridays, even not being here and trying to run things. It wasn’t a very long conversation. He was upset with the way the department was upset and the community was upset about the chain of events.

“He never once interefered with me on a transfer or a change.”

Ortiz said he concluded he had made a mistake by “trying to run the police department from out of state. I learned a valuable lesson that you have to be there, or do it in a different way.”

What he did in a different way was put White back in his job. He also increased training for his officers on how to handle tense situations that can lead to shootings, such as when and how to stop cars (don’t ram or box them in), and when and how to pursue a suspect.

At that point, Ortiz said, he concluded that he had made his point and effected a change. “I got the message across to slow things down. They can do the job, but it has to be done safely. You can’t jeopardize your own safety in furtherance of your job.” At no time, Ortiz said, did he have any inkling that White or other narc cops were in any way involved in alleged thefts or bribe-taking.

Ortiz noted that people have asked him if he feels “exonerated” by the past week’s events, since he had sought to transfer White. His answer: No. “It’s not about that. It’s one department. It’s all one team.”

The Next Questions

Even if Ortiz’s explanation satisfies critics, questions will remain.

For instance: Why, if the process was the problem, did White remain in the post? If the mayor found it necessary to intercede, why was the intercession confined to soothing complaints from the police union and rank-and-file over process, rather than addressing the community’s concern about out-of-control cops?

A parallel may be found in the early days of community policing. Then-Chief Nick Pastore also undertook a controversial shuffling of top cops he considered too violent in their dealings with the community. Pastore, too, came under intense fire. He too was the subject of a no-confidence vote. He too came under criticism for the way he conducted the shake-up.

The difference: Then-Mayor John Daniels endorsed the shake-up and stuck by it — even when white cops staged a weekend-long “blue flu,” jammed police radios and slashed tires of cop cars in an effort to pressure the chief and City Hall to reverse course. It was the defining moment for community policing in New Haven.

No one is suggesting that DeStefano was linked to White. In fact, White was supportive of a challenger to DeStefano in one mayoral campaign.

Instead, critics have focused on DeStefano’s budding gubernatorial campaign at the time. Was he more interested in keeping things quiet at home than in tackling controversial issues, including declining community policing and increasing youth violence?

For instance, DeStefano held off on a controversial plan to launch i.d. cards for immigrants until after his campaign for governor, for instance. He also waited until that campaign’s end to launch a shake-up of top City Hall positions and to shut down a controversial, aggressive police operation known as “ID-Net.”

In a conversation Sunday, DeStefano dismissed the notion that his gubernatorial quest influenced his actions with Ortiz. “This was in January ‘05. That was nearly two full years before the governor’s race. The primary was in August ‘06. That was so far in advance; I had not formed a gubernatorial committee yet.

“That’s like saying it’s now six months before a mayoral election. We always have elections here. At that point in the chief’s leadership, this was a big issue.”

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Comments

Posted by: Ralph Rechtenberg | March 19, 2007 7:10 PM

"Why, if the process was the problem, did White remain in the post?"

You bet. Keep digging.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | March 19, 2007 7:35 PM

I know Ortiz is taken the blame but is it just me or does is sound fishy?? He moved White right then had the vote of no confidence because of the way he handled the shack up, then the mayor talked to him and then he moved white back?? So Ortiz did the right thing but in the wrong way. So even if that were the fact why was Billy not moved at some point after?? Still smells of fish.... a dead fish. I wonder who is Ortiz's puppet master? I really feel bad for him now, it seems like he is just protecting his future now. I am not sure what this all means??

Anyone else think this is a little weird??

Posted by: Sabrina | March 20, 2007 6:14 AM

No, Cedarhill I don't think this situation is fishy. What I do think is that many folks are deeply disappointed and upset with the entire situation and are looking for something or someone to blame. It is easier to be able to focus blame than it is to accept another assault on our sense of trust and belief in civic institutions and those that we employ or elect to serve in them. I also believe that there are folks that will use these allegations to attack and say - "I told you so" or, "Oh, no wonder..." or those that simply have a political axe to grind. I am sure you, too, will find all kinds of folks who now say: "everyone knew this cop was dirty..." If White had been transferred two years ago, would that have eliminated the other 37 years of alleged illegal and unethical behavior, would that have stopped the "sting" and thus, the scandal? I expect that there will be a lot more theories presented - clearly there were signs that were overlooked, there always are after the facts come out. Personally, I could sit here all day and concoct all sorts of scenarios as to what happened to this policeman (men) to have him (them) end up with these charges, fact or fiction, it wouldn't change the implicit damage done to the current and future police force and judicial system here and that is what I care about; going forward. I certainly am chagrinned by the fact that I had encouraged folks in Cedar Hill to contact Lt. White directly over the blatant drug dealing I witnessed in there last year. My impression was that Lt. White would respond to the concerns and help make Cedar Hill Avenue and May Street safe for everyone to go out on - I know the call was made, I do not know if there was a response. How do you think I feel about that recommendation today? Cedarhillresident, you are fighting everyday to regain a healthy and safe community for yourself and your neighbors and you need the help and support of the police to make that happen - will knowing who to blame change this need? Will you be suspect now of the next sworn officer that you confide in? I hope not. There is breaking glass tinkling all over town from those that are throwing stones through their glass houses casting blame, it only makes this situation uglier and delays the real work of making damn sure this isn't likely to happen again.

Posted by: Da Hill | March 20, 2007 9:37 AM

Look....lets not try and over analyze this situation. There are a lot of factual constants present here, and naturally, due to the inherent responsible nature associated with a police officer there will be an overwhelming outcry of blame. Who is at fault? Everyone whos name continues to pop up in the media surrounding this situation. Not in the sense of being guilty of a crime, but rather be overly involved in the day to day operation. When you are a hands on manager, you are the first person people look to. unfortunately, you cant decide to then to move the blame over...it just does not work that way. Whites guilt or innocence is not at issue nor is it cure all for what truly plagues the city. Far too long there has been reports of abuse by new haven police...not beatings or things of that nature, but rather a common thread of disrespect towards the citizens of New Haven. particularly, citizens of color. You get pulled over by a police officer and you are talked to as if you are a child, and out of fear of penalty, you allow it and ignore your experience. Because you are wrong, and they are the almighty overseer. But now, you see first hand that they are the guilty party, the proverbial shoe is on the other foot, and we are not going to allow this to slide without applying some presure. As citizens of the hill, westriver, new hallville...the city is not for us. Its for yale, and the police remind you of this fact whenever you try to enjoy something beyond your realm. Too many black or latinos congregating is a cause of beefed us police monitoring. White kids from yale get drunk as skunks on the weekend and the cops actually ignore it...I guess its chalked up to college fun. The people are merely expressing how they feel on a daily basis, but no real focal point to express it, and now we have the scandal of the year with dirty cops, dirty bail bondsmen, a over involved mayor, and a police chief whos riding the wave...its going to get worst before it gets better. pop your popcorn and enjoy...

Posted by: nfjanette | March 20, 2007 10:31 PM

Too many black or latinos congregating is a cause of beefed us police monitoring. White kids from yale get drunk as skunks on the weekend and the cops actually ignore it...I guess its chalked up to college fun.

White kids from Yale, for all of their problems, are not the ones making our neighborhoods unsafe for residents. They are sometimes a hazard to their own safety by idiotically walking into traffic on city streets, but they aren't the ones wandering the city on bikes looking for people to assault and rob.

There's nothing wrong with the Police targeting the correct people. I don't care if that is black youths or anyone else - the race card doesn't play well with the average citizen anymore, thank God. We can't complain about the crime rate one minute and then complain about the Police aggressively fighting crime the next. I'll take the later these days in New Haven.

Posted by: greg | March 21, 2007 9:31 AM

are the white Yalies getting drunk the best you can do? Keep defending violent crimes, and thats what you get, violent crimes. This thinking would result in the increased presence of the drug gangs that Billy White got rid of! Stop identifing this behavior as racist.Its about lowlife scum , and the very real world of street cops. Its not some made for T.V.program with a happy ending

Posted by: cedarhillresident | March 21, 2007 10:20 AM

Sabrina our problem in Cedar Hill is that we have told every officer that has set foot in our area, we have gone to mayor night outs, mayor night ins (even ones that were not in our area asking for help we have gone to the papers the news and we have been doing it for years. Billy White was just one of many, we called him in hopes that he would be the one that would come through for us and of course that turned out not to be the fact.... Our only saving grace at this point in time is that there is a new cop in town( well in our district). And she seems to care! Not that the last one didn't care he just had no officers to send to our part of town we are just to out of the way so we were on our for a long time.

Posted by: KAM B | March 25, 2007 10:45 AM

DA HILL's comment just shows us how ignorant the public is when it comes to trying to understand what police actual do for good citizens so they can walk the streets and enjoy the great things the city has to offer. New Haven is a great place and people flock to the green to enjoy concerts, go downtown to eat, etc. DA HILL is worried about a few Yalies getting drunk and stumbling into the street. What do you want the police to do? Tackle them and lock them up!? You're ignorant. I'd like my tax dollars to pay for the police to lock them hoodlums up who are commiting real crimes. Kids driving around in packs on bikes robbing people. Shooting up there own neighborhoods, dealing drugs to youths, and lock up people from New Haven and the suburbs who come into the city to buy drugs. GET THESE DIRT BAGS OFF THE STREETS! The cops are doing a fantastic job. KEEP IT UP!

Ortiz Answers The Question Of The Hour

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