Paul Bass Photo
Harp swearing in Campbell Monday afternoon
Don’t tell anyone — but New Haven has a new police chief.
With no public notice, the mayor swore in the new chief at a ceremony Tuesday afternoon in the mayor’s conference room on the second floor of City Hall.
There, Mayor Toni Harp administered the oath of office to Anthony Campbell, whom the Board of Alders Monday night formally confirmed as the successor to former Chief Dean Esserman.
Earlier in the day, the administration said the chief would not be sworn in until June 20.
Meanwhile, it gathered Assistant Chiefs Otoniel Reyes, Achilles “Archie” Generoso, and Luiz Casanova at the mayor’s suite at 4 p.m., along with officials of the Chief Administrative Officer’s department and Campbell’s wife Stephanie for a private official swearing-in.
Click on the above video to watch the oath being administered.
Before administering the oath, Harp told Campbell that he is assuming the reins of “the best police force in the United States of America.”
“We’re probably the only city in Connecticut that does it right,” Harp said of community-based policing, citing plummeting crime rates and bonds between cops and neighborhoods. (Click here for an alternate take on the state of community policing.)
Harp told Campbell that she expects him to take the city’s policing strategy “to the next level.”
After the swearing in, everyone in the room was invited to share in a celebratory cake thanks to the efforts of mayoral staffer Patricia Lawlor.
The city had been without an official chief since Esserman resigned in September amid controversy. Campbell has served as interim chief, and received positive reviews for his performance.
Harp said hundreds of people will be invited to a public version of Campbell’s swearing-in on June 20. The administration held a similar secret swearing-in for John Alston, the current fire chief, before holding a second more public event. But for the record, as of 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, New Haven has a new top cop.
Assistant Chief Reyes offers a congratulatory hug to Campbell after the oath.
Dear Mr. Bass,
I was standing right next to Chief Campbell when he explained to you that 2 out of the 3 Assistant Chiefs would be out of town on June 20th, & that he wanted them to be a part of the swearing-in before they left town...simple, boring, true.
[Paul: True! Thank you for noting that. Not sure why media wasn't notified of the change. I'd argue a swearing in for police chief is an important government event that should be done and acknowledged publicly. I respect the fact that others might disagree. I know there were no ill intentions here.]