On The Beat, Black + Brown = Blue

Officers Bleck Joseph and Marco Correa shot each other a slight nod. The nod meant: There may be a gun in the car. Time to bring out the occupants.

They didn’t need to utter the words. For two and a half years they’ve been patrolling Newhallville together. In tight spots, they have the routine, and the communication, down.

Joseph and Correa ended up taking two loaded, unregistered guns off the street that night they stopped the car, a Nissan Sentra, on Winchester Avenue. The way they did it demonstrated a methodical approach to preventing a situation from escalating while keeping everybody safe.

It also demonstrated how the two cops have learned to work together since befriending each other early at the police academy. They’ve asked to keep working as a team ever since.

They talked about that in an interview during a week when tensions between Latino and African-American cops burst into public view over the one-day suspension of a top Latino cop by an African-American interim chief for the way an African-American beat cop in the Hill was treated; and over a broader quest by the two brass to become New Haven’s next permanent chief. The events of the week reflected longstanding rivalries between Latino and African-American groups both within and outside the department, in the view of some observers.

Meanwhile, the work of partners like Joseph and Correa reflect that such tension is often non-existent on the daily patrol beat. In fact, the African-American cop from the Hill has for years patrolled successfully alongside a Latino partner — just as Joseph, who’s Haitian-American, and Correa have bonded on the beat.

“He’s Puerto Rican. I’m black,” Joseph noted. ​“We work well together.”

“We’re all blue,” continued Correa. ​“We take care of each other. We trust each other. There’s really no divide.”

20/10 Eyesight

Joseph and Correa started out walking a beat together. Now they patrol Newhallville by cruiser on the ​“crime suppression” beat, looking for signs of trouble from afternoon through the evening.

They were on their way back to the substation at around 10 p.m. on Thursday of last week when they thought they might have spotted one such sign: the Nissan Sentra. It had its lights off. The engine was running. Four people were inside. It was parked outside a Winchester Avenue house where a neighbor had reported possible drug dealing.

Joseph was behind the wheel, as is often the case. From the front passenger seat, Correa noticed the Sentra was missing its front license plate.

“He has a better eye,” Joseph said of his partner, who has 20/10 eyesight, meaning he can see from 20 feet away what a person with average sight can see from 10 feet away.

“He’s better with the driving,” Correa continued. ​“I’m better with the computer and having an eye for the license plates.”

“He’ll see a plate [number] two blocks away. I say, ​‘You can see that plate?’”

The officers were driving to the substation to drop off some bags left with them by rookie walking beats. ​“Before we head in, let’s check it out,” Joseph suggested.

They pulled up to the car, which was parked within a block of the substation. Joseph turned on the ​“takedown lights” in the center of the bar above the cruiser and called for back-up while Correa hopped out of the car.

Before he did so, he noticed a back-seat passenger adjusting his North Face jacket and ​“moving around a lot.” He would keep his eye on that passenger.

Correa approached the Sentra’s front passenger-side door and asked the front passenger to roll down the window. He immediately noticed the smell of marijuana smoke. On the front console he noticed the blunt from which it emanated.

“Is there anything else in the vehicle?” Correa asked. The driver produced a sandwich bag with a bit more marijuana.

Correa was more concerned about a possible gun than about marijuana. He scanned the car, paying special attention to the North Face jacket.

Joseph approached the driver, whose ​“breathing was getting heavy.” He asked for his license, registration.

“Let me ask you something,” he said to the driver. ​“Any guns in the car?”

“Why would you say that?” the driver asked.

“You have an NRA sticker. That’s why.”

That made the driver more nervous.

And that — the sticker, the nervousness, combined with the drugs — led to the slight nod that meant: Time to pull everyone out and pat them down.

Sarge’s Son

Joseph and Correa became pretty much instant friends when they entered the police academy.

“Are you Sgt. Correa’s son?” Joseph asked when the met.

Indeed, Correa was the son of Bridgeport Sgt. Eddie Correa, whom Joseph learned about when he interned at the Bridgeport police department.

The pair found they had a lot in common. Both were the sons of police officers. Both grew up wanting to be cops. Correa grew up in Stratford, Joseph in neighboring Bridgeport. Both played football in school: Correa was an outside linebacker in high school, Joseph a wide receiver and cornerback in high school and in college. Both went to Connecticut state schools.

They’ve requested they remain a team ever since. They’ve come to anticipate each other’s moves, to complement each other’s strengths.

“They create their in-field strategy,” observed their supervisor, top Newhallville cop Sgt. Shafiq Abdussabur. ​“They have an inherent talent to do police work. They have the ability to focus and be consistent in following a whole case through.”

On Winchester Avenue that night, Correa had one passenger leave the Sentra at a time for a pat down. He had each one then stand by the back-up officers who’d arrived, so no one would bolt if a gun emerged. They’d asked the driver to remove the keys from the ignition, so he wouldn’t try to speed away.

They wanted the man with the North Face jacket to remain in the car the longest, to be patted down last, since they suspected he had the gun. Indeed, Joseph felt a barrel inside the jacket by the left side of the man’s chest.

“Don’t move,” he told the man. He called over Officer Chris Boyle, who removed a fully loaded revolver.

Correa proceeded to search the Nissan. He opened the trunk to come upon a Jennings .22-caliber pistol, also loaded, poking out from the back seat cushion.

The officers had felt calm since they had succeeded in taking control of the scene, having the keys removed from the ignition and then the occupants out of the car and guarded. Now they felt excited to have found two handguns, neither of which was registered to anyone in the car.

“I was happy to get guns off the street. We probably prevented something [bad] from happening,” Joseph said.

The four occupants of the car, who ranged in age from 20 to 24 years and live in Hamden and New Haven, were charged with a variety of gun and drug offenses. (One of them had oxycontin on him, as well.)

Then Joseph and Correa ended their shift and prepared their report of the arrests at headquarters at 1 Union Ave.

They take turns writing up gun arrests so they can each get the practice. Afterward the other officers review the report. Tonight was Correa’s turn to write the report. Joseph found nothing to add to it.

Read other installments in the Independent’s ​“Cop of the Week” series: 

• Shafiq Abdussabur
• Craig Alston & Billy White Jr.
• Joseph Aurora
• James Baker
• Lloyd Barrett
• Pat Bengston & Mike Valente
• Elsa Berrios
• Manmeet Bhagtana (Colon)
• Paul Bicki
• Paul Bicki (2)
• Sheree Biros
• Bitang
• Scott Branfuhr
• Bridget Brosnahan
• Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
• Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
• Dennis Burgh
• Anthony Campbell
• Darryl Cargill & Matt Wynne
• Elizabeth Chomka & Becky Fowler
• Rob Clark & Joe Roberts
• Sydney Collier
• Carlos Conceicao
• Carlos Conceicao (2)
• Carlos Conceicao and Josh Kyle
• David Coppola
• Mike Criscuolo
• Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
• Chad Curry
• Roy Davis
• Joe Dease
• Milton DeJesus
• Milton DeJesus (2)
• Rose Dell
• Brian Donnelly
• Anthony Duff
• Robert DuPont
• Eric Eisenhard & Jasmine Sanders
• Jeremie Elliott and Scott Shumway
• Jeremie Elliott (2)
• Jose Escobar Sr.
• Bertram Ettienne
• Bertram Ettienne (2)
• Martin Feliciano & Lou DeCrescenzo
• Paul Finch
• Jeffrey Fletcher
• Renee Forte
• Marco Francia
• Michael Fumiatti
• Michael Fumiatti (2)
• William Gargone
• William Gargone & Mike Torre
• Derek Gartner
• Derek Gartner & Ryan Macuirzynski
• Tom Glynn & Matt Williams
• Jon Haddad & Daniela Rodriguez
• Michael Haines
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer (2)
• Dan Hartnett
• Ray Hassett
• Robert Hayden
• Patricia Helliger
• Robin Higgins
• Ronnell Higgins
• William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
• Derek Huelsman
• Racheal Inconiglios
• Juan Ingles
• Shayna Kendall
• Paul Kenney
• Hilda Kilpatrick
• Herb Johnson
• John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
• Jillian Knox
• Peter Krause
• Peter Krause (2)
• Amanda Leyda
• Rob Levy
• Anthony Maio
• Dana Martin
• Reggie McGlotten
• Steve McMorris
• Juan Monzon
• Monique Moore and David Santiago
• Matt Myers
• Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
• Tiffany Ortiz
• Chris Perrone
• Joseph Perrotti
• Ron Perry
• Joe Pettola
• Diego Quintero and Elvin Rivera
• Ryan Przybylski
• Stephanie Redding
• Tony Reyes
• David Rivera
• Luis & David Rivera
• Luis Rivera (2)
• Salvador Rodriguez
• Salvador Rodriguez (2)
• Brett Runlett
• David Runlett
• Betsy Segui & Manmeet Colon
• Allen Smith
• Marcus Tavares
• Martin Tchakirides
• David Totino
• Stephan Torquati
• Gene Trotman Jr.
* Elisa Tuozzoli
• Kelly Turner
• Lars Vallin (& Xander)
• Dave Vega & Rafael Ramirez
• Earl Reed
• Daophet Sangxayarath & Jessee Buccaro
• Herb Sharp
• Jess Stone
• Arpad Tolnay
• John Velleca
• Manuella Vensel
• Holly Wasilewski
• Holly Wasilewski (2)
• Alan Wenk
• Stephanija VanWilgen
• Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
• Matt Williams
• Michael Wuchek
• Michael Wuchek (2)
• David Zannelli
• Cailtin Zerella
• Caitlin Zerella (2)
• Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
• David Zaweski