Laura Glesby Photo
Leslie Radcliffe: "We need more people like you" on the police force.
“Did the lieutenant convince you?” Leslie Radcliffe called out to Tiemarcie Ramos, who’d walked past the Hill North police substation in search of his mother’s stolen garbage can.
Ramos shrugged. Radcliffe wasn’t satisfied.
Radcliffe, a Hill community activist, was helping the New Haven Police Department enlist Hill residents to its ranks.
“We need faces like you,” Radcliffe urged Ramos. “We need folks like you.”
She joined 15 city officials and police leaders on a recruiting mission in the neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, handing out flyers at the substation and knocking on door after door amid the slowly strengthening rain.
The recruitment push took place against the backdrop of a growing number of vacancies in the police department, contributing to heightened overtime costs; at last count the department had 60 vacancies among its 406 budgeted positions. The canvass also occurred as the department has come under fire for its mishandling of a prisoner in the back of a police vehicle, leading to his hospitalization and paralysis.
Tuesday’s recruitment effort marked a concerted effort to encourage New Haven residents to apply for police jobs in their home city.
That particular goal prompted Hill activist Johnny Dye to make an appearance at the substation.
Johnny Dye: NHPD needs more Hill representation.
“We don’t have enough police representation from the community,” Dye said. “The officers that came from the neighborhood, they know the neighborhood.”
Among the canvassers were city Chief Administrative Officer Rush-Kittle, Police Chief Karl Jacobson, Internal Affairs Lt. Manmeet Colon, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Bombero, a number of district managers, one Hill resident who asked not to be named, and, later in the afternoon, Mayor Justin Elicker.
Over the course of the afternoon, teams of canvassers encountered a few aspiring cops — at least two of whom would need to wait over a decade before applying.
Aspiring police officer Axel.
Before the canvass began, 7‑year-old Axel sauntered up to the substation with his sister and relative (who declined to give their names).
“What are you guys doing?” Axel asked.
“We’re going on a walk,” replied Brendan Borer, the lieutenant in charge of the Downtown/Wooster Square police district. “We’re seeing if anyone wants to be a police officer.”
Axel’s sister immediately pointed his way.
His older relative pulled out a photo of Axel in a police Halloween costume. “He wants to join the military, then the police,” she said.
“Those are some awesome goals,” Borer said, handing Axel and his sister “Junior Officer” badges and informational flyers.
The kids peppered Borer with more questions, explained the definition of Boba tea, and recommended their favorite flavors (especially passionfruit).
One of Axel's possible future colleagues: Chairian Maldonado.
Hill District Manager Justin Marshall met another young aspiring cop, 7‑year-old Chairian Maldonado, on his canvassing route. Maldonado said she has wanted to be an officer “since I was a little kid.”
Top Hill cop Lt. Justin Marshall.
Marshall ran into a handful of residents he knows from his work as the district manager. They promised to spread the word about recruitment. He also encountered a number of unanswered doors and a few unenthusiastic pedestrians.
Akeem Adams said he might apply after becoming a U.S. citizen.
He met at least one promising candidate old enough to work on the force: Akeem Adams, a 32-year-old New Haven resident who works at Auto Clinic, a repair shop.
“I gotta be a citizen first,” Adams, who was born in Jamaica, told Marshall.
Marshall agreed, then encouraged Adams to think about the prospect of applying in the long term. “I’m gonna write my number on the back,” Marshall said as he retrieved a job flyer from his pocket.
Adams took Marshall’s offer seriously, he said. He’d considered becoming a police officer when he lived in Jamaica, so the idea of changing careers in New Haven didn’t feel far from his goals.
Tiemarcie Ramos contemplates insurance and pensions.
Later in the afternoon, Marshall returned to the substation — and encountered Tiemarcie Ramos, who was glancing at the side of the trash bin outside the police substation, seeing if his mother’s Hill address was scrawled on the side. He was hoping to find the trash bin that someone had swiped from his mom’s house, he said. The bin outside the substation wasn’t hers.
Ramos, a Newhall resident, accepted a flyer from Marshall.
Then Radcliffe called him over.
“What are you doing” for work? she asked.
“I’m a contractor, Ramos said.
“How are the benefits?” Radcliffe asked.
“My wife has the benefits,” Ramos responded.
Ramos, who’s in his 30s, said he’d contemplated signing up to be an officer before, “but never had time.”
He listened to Radcliffe and Marshall detail the health insurance and pension benefits cops get — and decided he’s sold enough to seriously consider following up.
"The recruitment push took place against the backdrop of a growing number of vacancies in the police department, contributing to heightened overtime costs; at the last count, the department had 60 vacancies among its 406 budgeted positions."
406 budgeted positions, with 60 of them vacant! In good (safe) times, we have a minimum of 500 officers. How do we operate the city with only 346 officers? No wonder our crime index is off the charts. I think we are at 3 out of 100, which means that 97% of other communities are safer than ours. Keep up the excellent work with this administration. How about supporting our men in blue? It could be a novel idea to cut crime. We finally have a Chief that should do a great job and give him the support he needs and a budget he could work with!