Sophie Sonnenfeld Photo
Police Chief Community Input & Transparency Committee.
A room full of Hamden residents offered a clear message Wednesday evening regarding the search for a new police chief: “Hire from within the department.”
The message emerged during a community dialogue held at the Hamden Memorial Town Hall, the second in a series of three community meetings hosted by Mayor Cuurt Leng and the Police Chief Community Input & Transparency Committee about the current controversial process of seeking a new leader for the police department. Fifty residents gathered to discuss what they want in a new chief and suggest changes to the current job description. About half of these residents at the event were also present at the first meeting.
Committee members present at the most recent meeting included committee chair Pastor Keith King of Christian Tabernacle Church; former Mayor Scott D. Jackson; and community residents Toni Foreman, Dominique Baez, Anthony Harpe, and Elana Roundtree.
According to the official website and announcements, the committee is charged with four tasks: First “to hold a series of community dialogues regarding the important qualities and strengths needed in the new leader of the Hamden Police Department.” Second, “to provide recommendations, based on community input, for potential job description changes for the position of Police Chief.” Third, “to research best practices for key recruitment strategies.” And finally, with the Personnel Department “to conduct full interviews of the applicants” and send a list of top applicants to Mayor Leng.
The committee encouraged community input regarding body cameras, community policing, addressing implicit bias, and what ethical conduct looks like. The committee also noted that while a majority of the attendees at this meeting favored selecting someone from inside the department, attendees at the first meeting were split evenly over the issue.
Hamden resident Bob Freeman said “any team is only as good as its leader” and argued that “there are many qualified leaders within the Hamden Police department currently for the job.”
Retired Deputy Police Chief of Hamden Bill Onofrio.
Retired Deputy Police Chief Bill Onofrio has been through the process of selecting a new chief five times, he said. Each of these hires were from within the department. Onofrio claimed they “went on to be very successful.”
Jackson said a possible benefit to having an outsider would be “for a different skill set and understanding of tactics which would allow them to bring in new ideas.” The department has come under fire and been the target of numerous protests over the past year about alleged misconduct and mistreatment of racial minorities, including a death threat to an immigrant at a traffic stop and the officer-involved shooting of an unarmed woman in a car parked across the town line in New Haven’s Newhallville neighborhood.
Outside applicants for the job have included former New Haven Police Chief Anthony Campbell, former Assistant New Haven Chief Luiz Casanova, and current New Haven Assistant Police Chief Racheal Cain.
Debbie DiLeone, who has lived in Hamden for 57 years, attended the Citizens Police Academy. She said it gave her insight into Hamden policing. She agreed with the majority of the room saying, “we should exhaust all candidate possibilities before looking outside” just as “any successful business promotes from within first.”
Councilman Justin Farmer.
Councilman Justin Farmer referenced the incident in which two Hamden Police officers threatened to call ICE on two Latino men at a traffic stop. He agreed it would be preferable to hire from within the department, “but if they can’t talk about the cultural changes that need to take place, then we need to look elsewhere for an outside hire.” Farmer also suggested a cultural change could come from increased diversity.
“Hamden is looked at as one of the most highly trained departments in Connecticut,” Onofrio said. He noted that Hamden officers are required to undergo firearms, laws of arrest, human relations, and interaction with the public training. The state requires that every three years officers must attend certified review training for 40 hours. In Hamden, Onofrio said, “we get that three year requirement done in four months.”
Hamden’s force has been attracting New Haven police officers in search of better benefits. Jackson said while some cops come to Hamden “because of a better benefit package” from other departments, through training “we do filter those folks in.”
Kimberly Washington.
Hamden High teacher Kimberly Washington said she has good relationships with numerous Hamden officers. She said she’s had only one negative incident with Hamden police. Her younger brother was pulled over right in front of her house and four officers had their guns drawn. Washington said she stayed calm and “got the badge numbers of the officers outside.” Because of her composure, “I got apologies from people in the department for what happened that same day.”
Washington said it’s imperative people “get involved and know your officers” and argued that change in the police department “has to start with communication.”
King offered a sign up-sheet. He said for people wanting to recount negative encounters with police, “there will be a later event to allow you to vent and speak with the police commission.”
Onofrio estimated that of the 113 members of the department, about 11 to 13 officers could be eligible to apply.
Committee chair Pastor Keith King.
The committee was formed in early May. King said he hopes the committee “will take no more than three to four months to come to final decisions” to help guide the hiring process.
“Ultimately though this is Mayor Leng’s decision” King added. “Even what we think should happen will not necessarily drive his decision.”
The final public input session is scheduled for July 10 at West Woods School, 250 W. Todd Street, beginning at 6 p.m.
"Hire from within" equates to protect the status quo. If Hamden really wants change, and it shouldn't be assumed that they do, the new hire needs to come in with fresh eyes and zero entanglements.
The committee and those who offer input must consider whether or not their PD's current approach works for everyone in Hamden. It's commendable that many come forward with stories of positive interactions with Hamden officers. That fact, however, cannot obscure that what brought about the need for this process was a series of terrifying and potentially deadly interactions with HAMDEN OFFICERS. The Hamden Police Department, the people of their town and their leaders can't support doing the same things that led to this moment and expect to achieve different results.