Tom Breen File Photo
Reyes with Black Lives Matter protesters outside police HQ.
Police Chief Otoniel Reyes is retiring, paving the way for Mayor Justin Elicker to pick his own leader for the force.
Reyes, who’s 49, is leaving in mid-March to take a new position as chief of public security for Quinnipiac University.
“My season is over. It’s time for me to move on and pass the baton,” Reyes said in an interview.
“I’ve had a career that I couldn’t have asked for anything more. [Now] I’m taking advantage of an opportunity that is going to be good for me and my family.”
Quinnipiac announced his new opportunity in a press release issued Wednesday morning: “In his new role, Reyes will oversee Quinnipiac’s Department of Public Safety, and will be responsible for: developing and implementing policies and procedures advancing safety and well-being on the university’s three campuses; ensuring compliance with all reporting requirements; collaborating with faculty, staff and students to offer educational programs and public safety services; and serving as a liaison with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. He also will manage patrol services, communications and information services for the department, facilities and residential security, investigations, crime prevention programs, and emergency and disaster preparedness.”
Sophie Sonnenfeld Photo
Reyes with West Hills Alder Honda Smith at anti-violence event.
The Hill native worked his way up in the New Haven department over 21 years, from patrol cop and detective and life-saving hostage negotiator to district manager, patrol sergeant, and chief of the detective bureau. He played a leading role in conjunction with state and federal law enforcement on violent crime reduction through “Project Longevity.”
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for him,” said New Haven State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin, with whom Reyes forged a close working relationship. “I thought he was a tremendous chief and a great partner for us.”
He has served as chief since March 2019. In that time he has helped stanch a “blue exodus” of officers and start rebuilding the force; and navigating twin historic challenges: the Covid-19 pandemic (which sparked a nationwide violent crime spike) and the Black Lives Matters protests that swept the nation this year.
Tom Breen Photo
Chief knocks on doors in Presidential Village after the discovery of an (alive) 8-month-old baby in a Dumpster at the complex.
“I’m proud we didn’t lose our footing with the community,” Reyes said. He has made the rounds of neighborhoods and engaged with protesters, while willing to take stands — on firing officers and on state efforts to address misconduct — that risked prompting criticism from all sides. Two other officers whom Reyes aimed to push off the force for alleged misconduct, resigned, avoiding potentially costly, drawn-out legal battles.
Fire Chief John Alston Jr. credited Reyes with “amazing leadership” and collaboration.
“We’ve had some sticky situations,” Alston said, ranging from a 2017 active-shooter scene on Elm Street to the current pandemic and protest-filled year. “He always kept his cool. Our work was always seamless; we call each other all the time, talking about how to protect the city and how to protect our people.”
Reyes, who worked as a drug-treatment counselor in the Hill before becoming a cop, worked closely throughout his years at the police department with Yale’s Child Study Center, which pairs staffers with officers to help children who experience trauma. Steve Marans, the center’s point person for the program, credited Reyes for “not only continuing” that “active partnership” but making New Haven’s the first department nationwide to train all officers in “trauma-informed policing.”
Who’s Next?
In-house options for chief include (from left) Renee Dominguez, Karl Jacobson, Anthony Duff, Herb Sharp.
The city charter requires that the police chief “have had experience of at least five (5) years in the management and direction of supervisors of operations of a police department with at least two hundred (200) employees serving a population of at least one hundred (100,000) thousand residents.”
The pool of current cops who meet that criterion include Assistant Chiefs Renee Dominguez, Karl Jacobson, and Herb Sharp, as well as Capt. Anthony Duff.
The charter also requires that the chief “shall have earned at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education prior to being considered for the position.” A chief has six months to establish residency in the city.
Mayor Justin Elicker can nominate a new chief. Then the Board of Alders will have a chance to hold a hearing on the nomination, then vote on whether to confirm it. Unless Elicker picks an assistant chief to serve as “interim” chief.
Elicker told the Independent Tuesday that he is looking to choose someone on more of an “interim” basis to fill out Reyes’ term, which ends in January 2022. (That could bypass the need for a confirmation process for now.) He has been in conversations with potential picks. He did not commit to a date for announcing his choice. “I want to make sure I’m able to interview people and make a decision I’m absolutely confident will be beneficial to the department,” he said. He praised Reyes for being “an incredible chief” who has “led the department through one of the most challenging years in recent history.”
Reyes and his predecessor, Anthony Campbell, followed three chiefs whom mayors brought in from out of town (James Lewis, Frank Limon, Dean Esserman). The next chief will be the sixth since 2008.
Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate, vice-chair of the board’s Public Safety Committee, urged the mayor to pick someone from within the department, who knows the city. “I hope they have a strategy for how we can get back to community-based policing,” Wingate added.
Thank you and best wishes to Chief Reyes. He's a New Haven success story, and an example of how hard work and playing by the rules pays off.
The new chief should come from within the ranks, and a decision should be made swiftly. There are 4 or 5 great candidates.