staff photos
Zannelli (left); Ettienne.
The city’s new police chief has recommended two trusted veteran cops to become his assistant chiefs: David Zannelli and Bertram Ettienne.
Chief Karl Jacobson submitted that recommendation to the Board of Police Commissioners, which is scheduled to vote on the matter Tuesday evening.
Since Jacobson was sworn in as chief last week, the department has had no one serving in the assistant role. The department has had between one and four assistant chiefs at a time over the past decades.
Zannelli is the police department’s current head of internal affairs and a former Fair Haven district manager whose success in building community trust helped boost a recent investigation into an officer’s abuse of sex workers.
Jacobson, who used to oversee the detective division, has worked closely over the years with Ettienne, who himself has overseen the homicide and detective units. Click here to read a story about the time Ettienne calmly arrested a murder suspect who happened to wander into a Hill bodega at lunch time in 2013; and here to read a story about Ettienne taking over the homicide unit in 2019.
“He’s very organized and calm under stress,” one reason he came to rely on him in high-pressure situations, Jacobson said of Ettienne.
“Zannelli has experience in every aspect of the police department, from investigative services to patrol to internal affairs. He has a good wealth of knowledge for me to work with, and he has a good relationship to the community,” Jacobson added.
Ettienne and Zannelli made their marks early in their career as beat cops — they were recommended by colleagues as early NHI “cops of the week.” (Read about that here and here.) Known for their civil and professional comportment with members of the public, they kept earning respect as they climbed through the ranks of the department over the past two decades.
Four other promotions recommended by Jacobson are also on Tuesday night’s commission agenda: Lt. Nicholas Marcucio to captain; Sgt. Yessennia Agosto to lieutenant; and Detective Jonathan Pleckaitis and Officer Jonathan Caron to sergeant.
The seeds are starting to take root and the wheel of change is spinning in the right direction. Congratulations David Zannelli and Bertram Ettienne.