nothin Anthony Campbell Named New Police Chief,… | New Haven Independent

Anthony Campbell Named New Police Chief, Targets Domestic Violence

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Anthony Campbell: “Family justice center” in works.

Interim Police Chief Anthony Campbell is set to be sworn in as the permanent police chief on June 1.

Campbell said his priorities include starting a family justice center” to tackle domestic violence and building more community trust in his cops.

Mayor Toni Harp selected Campbell to become the new chief after a search committee reviewed 24 applicants.

Campbell was among three finalists interviewed for the job; the others were Assistant Chief Luiz Casanova and retired Assistant Chief Thaddeus Reddish.

Harp said Sunday that she felt the search produced excellent candidates.”

I chose Anthony Campbell because of his intellect, compassion, work ethic, and he scored highest throughout the interview process,” Harp stated. I am confident that he can lead the department to the next level.”

Campbell succeeds Dean Esserman, who left the position last Sept. 2. Campbell has served as interim chief since Esserman’s departure and was widely expected to ascend to the permanent spot.

Campbell at a recent U.S. Attorney’s Office press conference.

His immediate challenges include outfitting the force with body cameras. He also assumes the position as unaddressed controversial incidents involving alleged officer misconduct have led to public concern that the department no longer practices community policing.

In an interview Sunday, Campbell spoke of addressing that concern by overseeing the coming implementation of body cameras as well as working closely with the soon-to-be-reconstituted Civilian Review Board.

He also spoke of efforts underway to start a family justice center” in New Haven in conjunction with retired police Capt. Julie Johnson. Such centers have succeeded in reducing domestic violence, particularly domestic violence deaths, in places like Brooklyn, Campbell said. (Click here for a previous story about efforts to bring a center to New Haven.)

We’ve been able to successfully reduce violent crime for the past six years in our city. But one of the things that seems to be the new horizon is domestic violence,” Campbell said. He described the centers as one-stop shopping for domestic violence. Instead of sending a person, say, to the shelter, then having a victim advocate over here, then having job assistance over here, it’s all in one place. It has prosecutors, detectives, housing, probation, parole — all of the device that you need in one location. And it’s very public. It’s not a secret.”

Police union President Craig Miller Sunday called Campbell’s appointment a big weight off my shoulders” after months of limbo at the top ranks. Now this department can finally move forward and get things done. It’s just been stagnant,” Miller said.

Any of the three finalists would have made a good chief, Miller said. The important point was to finally have one in place. He said he hopes now, for instance, negotiations on a new union contract can start moving along more quickly. The rank and file’s contract expired last year.

During Campbell’s tenure as interim chief, we’ve had some disagreements,” Miller said, but he and Campbell always manage to sit down and hash it out.”

A graduate of Yale College and Yale Divinity School, Campbell grew up in New York. His mom was a corrections officer at Riker’s Island; his dad was incarcerated there. Campbell, who’s 44 years old, has been on the police force for 19 years.

Click here for a previous story about the time a fleeing suspect almost killed Campbell while Campbell was on duty, and how Campbell subsequently asked a judge to go leniently on sentencing.

And click on or download the above audio file to listen to an interview with Campbell and Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly on WNHH radio about their joint efforts to prevent gang-related violence in New Haven.

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