Police Chief Job Posting Goes Live

Would be interesting if Chief Dominguez applies.

I agree with Dennis that Chief Dominguez should apply.
If she does not, I hope some current or retired NHPD police officers apply. We would benefit from a police chief who knows New Haven, knows New Haveners, and knows New Haven's communities.
It really is a waste of our money to pay an agency to do a national search, but this was forced upon us by the Board of Aldermen, a small group of ministers, and others who demanded that the police chief be black.
Despite all that has been said and done by many to derail Dominguez, many resident political observers believe if Dominguez was black she would be the chief TODAY. The aldermen would have approved her. There would be no expensive national search, and Kimber would have no excuse for his frivolous, costly lawsuit!

New Haven will end up hiring someone from across the country. they will sign a 5 year contract and leave after 2 and we will owe them for the 3.

I agree with the above commenters. This is a waste of time, a political power play, and will be used as a stepping stone for an out of state candidate to move to a bigger and better position after they hold the position here for a couple of years. Only a local homegrown police chief will want to stick around longer and pit up with with the political nonsense that come with this position, because they really care enough to stay and try to make positive changes for the good of their community.

It would be interesting to hear from a human resources attorney to understand if Acting Chief Dominguez would have strong grounds to sue the city for discrimination. If you look at her record over the past 6 months it's pretty good. And I'm sure she will have a "plan" that is much better than any outsider could ever draft. And some of the comments from some of the legislators who voted against her seem downright discriminatory. Then you compare how she has been treated to how Chief Alston has been treated and it's easy to paint a picture that she was discriminated against. My crustal ball sees a major lawsuit against the City. And maybe some of the white captains join into that lawsuit. Look at Captain Rose Dell for example. 19 years of impeccable service, a Yale graduate, service at every major function in the NHPD, but will likely never get an opportunity be chief because she is white. And when you factor in that the Assistant Chiefs and Captains are all at or near 20 years, then it becomes a no-brainer to sue bc you've already maxed out on your pension opportunity.

If it happens, it would be deja vu all over again; a "man of the cloth" lobbies to keep qualified candidate(s) from job opportunities based on skin color, those candidates file a class-action suit, and the city winds up paying millions of dollars.

This is all because of one person who said we need someone who looks like us and basically said she doesn’t . But he doesn’t pay taxes to the City from what I could find on any City web site . He should be investigated, look it up !!
[Editor's note: When public figures made public statements they wanted someone who "looks like" them in the police department's upper ranks, they made clear to say they wanted to see someone in higher ranks who is Black or Hispanic, because the top ranks had suddenly turned all-white; no one ever said the chief needs to be Black, and in fact many Black public figures were supporting a candidate who is white. This has been widely misunderstood and misquoted by people who supported the interim/acting chief.]

As top cops watched silently in a packed pew right behind the alders, and activists stood nearby in opposition, Majority Leader Richard Furlow of Beaver Hills spoke of how the board has pushed for a public-safety agenda and an agenda of racial and economic opportunity in the city for the past decade. He argued that Dominguez had failed to show evidence of such a plan.

“We need assistant chiefs that look like us,” he said.

This statement from Furlow is very clear. In fact, it's black and white. And we all know the non-public person pushing the politicians to remove Chief Dominguez has a very black and white agenda. Furlow should know you don't simply anoint Assistant Chiefs. The members who rose through the ranks and are now in leadership positions have largely served under non-white Chiefs. To lie the blame for lack of diversity at the feet of Dominguez is non-sensical. In fact, one could argue the BofA's are more responsible for the lack of diversity on the NHPD. After all, where were the initiatives and the money from the BOA to expand diversity? Where was the "PLAN" from Monsieur Furlow and the BOA's to fund and encourage diversity?

The lawsuit is coming!

Captain David Zannelli, Assit Chief Karl Jacobson and Captain Rose Dell should apply for the next New Haven Chief of Police.

The next Chief should be a current or retired member of the New Haven Police
Command staff.

An outsider will take a year to learn the city, won’t be trusted by anyone and may be a social experiment to satisfy a small section of the population that are looking at one demographic.
The best qualified New Haven Police officer/commander should be the choice.

@Editor. Whenever most Black people say they want a police chief who looks like "us," they mean a Black person. They don't mean Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders or other minorities.
Now some politicians MAY have meant all people of color, or all minorities when they said "us", but THAT is not what most members of the Black community thought when they heard Black political and community leaders say they wanted a police chief and more top brass who look like "us."
Some act as if we have never had police chiefs or other high ranked officers who were Black and Hispanic. Many have retired, or moved on to other police departments for various reasons. There was no conspiracy to oust them. The result: no minorities currently at the top. They left!
Our police force needs more diversity, but people prefer quality, character, commitment and fairness in police, regardless of race.
Many feel that Chief Dominguez was not given a fair chance. After the BOA rejection on 12/6, Dominguez intended to address the complaints of several Alders after the Mayor resubmitted her name for appointment, but the rumblings of opposition and attack that appeared racist and sexist increased.
Many voices continued the all for a Black chief. Many ignored any subsequent progress and successes of the NHPD under her continued leadership.
On 12/8 the NHI published the article DOMINGUEZ SOUGHT ANSONIA JOB which appeared to be an attack against her stated commitment to New Haven. Many condemned the article, and wondered if would have been news-worthy if a male candidate had applied simultaneously to more than one job.
Evidently it must have been offensive to the Chief, and seen as the last of a rising tide of criticisms that she would tolerate, because on 12/10, she announced that she would withdraw her name from consideration for the chief position, and retire!
This is why we are where we are today in this process of selecting a new chief.

[Editor's Note: In our reporting, we never encountered a single human being stating that the police chief should be of any race or "look like me." The people who raised the issue of race were discussing the sudden disappearance of all nonwhite cops from the top ranks for the first time in almost 30 years. They said they felt that SOMEONE in the top ranks should be of a racial group other than white. In fact, many of those critics who are Black were supporting a white person to become the next chief. That fact has been twisted by people who allege that opponents were insisting that the next chief be of a particular race and created a misperception and false debate that underlie many of these comments.]

The Editors Note to Thomas Paine is unbelievable in its entirety and that "look like me" phrase used by so many means one thing.

To believe that some individuals are using that phrase and are not wishing for a black Chief is ludicrous.

How about advocate for a candidate with police command experience, knowledge of the city and its crime problems and of what is needed to succeed instead of acting like a contortionist to explain what you wrote people said wasn't exactly what they said and meant.

Many people have pointed out the different treatment received by the police chief and the fire chief before the Board of Aldermen.
The police chief and the fire chief BOTH had serious problematic issues of concern raised by the aldermen. Both had supporters and detractors.
The BOA rejected the appointment of the police chief and recommended that she return with a list of corrective measures to answer their objections.
The fire chief was approved, despite aldermanic and public concerns, and was NOT requested to return to the BOA with a plan of corrective measures to answer their stated concerns BEFORE they would confirm the fire chief's reappointment.
A tale of two similar cases before the BOA: two candidates with some flaws, concerns and issues that resulted in to different outcomes.
Can anyone explain the disparate treatment? Can anyone explain why the fire chief was treated more favorably than the police chief?
Is there a lack of fairness, equity and consistency on our BOA?
One more thing. Did the aldermen go on record for their votes to confirm the fire chief's reappointment, or did they hide their votes from public scrutiny like they did when they voted down the police chief?
The public has a right to know.