Staff Photos
Applicants Casanova, Campbell, Cain.
Tom Breen Photo
Rally outside Hamden PD after officer shot unarmed woman.
As Hamden looks for a new chief for its controversy-plagued police department, three experienced New Haven top cops have offered their assistance.
Retired New Haven Chief Anthony Campbell and current Assistant Chiefs Racheal Cain and Luiz Casanova have all applied for the vacant job, according to people familiar with the process.
They and other candidates submitted their applications last fall, after then-Hamden Chief Thomas Wydra retired in September to take a state job and the town began a search for his replacement.
Then there was radio silence: Applicants didn’t hear back from the town.
The town reopened the search, received more applications — then stopped the process.
In the meantime, John Cappiello has served as chief in an acting role.
Mayor Curt Leng told the Independent Wednesday that he’s waiting for some issues roiling the department to play out before the process resumes.
The department has come under fire for an April 16 incident in which a Hamden officer crossed town lines into New Haven’s Newhallville neighborhood responding to a report of an alleged robbery attempt. The officer stopped a car with two unarmed occupants, then fired bullets into it, hitting and injuring 22-year-old Stephanie Washington. The incident has drawn national media attention and provoked demonstrations and outrage from, among others, New Haven cops critical of Hamden cops coming into town with a more violent approach to policing.
The department has also been wrestling with the fallout from a video released earlier this year showing Officer Andrew Lipford — who had a history of losing his cool on the job — following Hamden resident Victor Medina to his home, where Lipford and Sgt Michael Sigmon arrested him at gunpoint. Lipford at one point told Medina, “If you do something that you’re not told you’re gonna get shot.” Lipford did not believe the passenger in Medina’s car when he said that Medina did not speak English. Sigmon was also caught on the tape threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Amid an internal investigation of that case, the police have faced public calls to create a civilian review board.
Tom Breen Photo
Acting Hamden Chief John Cappiello with Mayor Curt Leng at New Haven City Hall after April 16 officer-involved shooting.
Meanwhile, Cappiello has been overseeing a review of the department’s chase policy, aimed at bringing it more in line with that of departments like New Haven’s.
“We are working on a lot of sensitive matters, including investigations but also reform efforts, that need our laser focus,” Leng said.
“I’m thinking that we have an acting chief in John Cappiello who has 35 years of experience and integrity and has his sleeves rolled up working through issues big and small. There will be a full, final process and a recommendation for a permanent chief, but right now we are focusing on enacting improvements and changes that need to happen now.”
Leng added that he’s “100 committed” to seeing those changes happen.
Candidates who have already submitted applications remain in the mix, Leng said. “The applicants are still eligible. We’ll still be talking with them.”
Hamden Legislative Council member Justin Farmer this week called for Leng to conduct an open and “transparent” process for the new chief, including sessions in which members of the public can question candidates. Farmer made the remarks during an appearance on WNHH FM’s “Dateline Hamden” program.
“Given the recent incident and given our goal of true community policing, I want to have more conversations with community leaders before making a final decision” on a new chief, Leng responded. He did not specifically commit to a public questioning process for candidates.
Also Wednesday, African-American ministers from New Haven held a press conference calling for the immediate firing of Devin Eaton, the Hamden officer who unleashed the storm of bullets in the April 16 traffic stop. He is currently on administrative leave pending the results of a state police investigation into the incident. Activists are publicly calling for his arrest.
Mayor Leng responded that he “understands” the calls for Eaton’s immediate firing after the “horrifying” scene captured on video. He noted that the department immediately removed Eaton from duty after the incident, pending the outcome of an active “and possible criminal” investigation. He promised to take “immediate appropriate action” when the state’s attorney and state police complete their investigation.
Everyone wants out from New Haven and I can't blame them. Today 4 more cops took jobs somewhere else. What a joke!!!!