Top-Level Shakeup Looms At Police Department

The independent should really just keep a template for this article with blank names, since it happens every six months or so it would make sense to not have to write a different article every time.

They new chief besides reminding me of John lithgow (actor) is active I must give him that. He is overbearing at times as I've experienced in meetings with him as a community member. Nothing against anyone but the word EGO is what comes to mind he has to get over that to benefit the people of this city, at least Limon kept his mouth shut when it was obvious he lacked the CHARACTER to effectively lead. When essermean communicates with people it's like your waiting for him to tell you whats really his mind without the fluff, there is'nt anything respectable about that. I'm just a respected community member for the people that don't often have a voice.

The bench in the Police Department has been depleted, in reality the swinging door of recent assistant chiefs has consisted of second stringers. Who would want an assistant chief position that has a life expectancy less then a Yankee manager during the elder Steinbrenner days. It appears that Dean is more interested in putting a pep squad together for himself then a team for the Police Department.

I don't think NHI implying this is a race based decision is fair. You currently have no idea who his intended replacements are much less what color their skin is do you? I know the "bubba mentality" of the EHPD has the whole shoreline a bit touchy, but this man just wants to hand pick his own team, not inherit one from his predecessor. On the surface, it seems reasonable to me, "wildfire" or otherwise.

@ James - Too funny, man!

More buyouts, more big pension payments for what? A year of new assistant chiefs. I'm very disappointed that Esserman could not make these people (all of whom are perfectly competent) a part of his team. I thought that was what leadership was about.

the hard working taxpayers of the city of new haven,....please,..use your voice,..come together as one,...please do not buy into the band aid and smoke screen,..that is being thrown in front of you by esserman,....when pastore was appointed chief and brought in eeserman,..it has taken almost 20 years to rid the department of the problems and malcontents that were hired,...the same cycle is repeating itself....

Here we go again.. The NHPD is like a day care who brings in different teachers every week to confuse the poor kids more than they already are about what they should and should not learn. As soon as they think they got it, along comes Johnny with new chiefs and new rules... Lord help us all''''. Let's see how long this stunt will last 6 months,1 year etc???????

This has nothing to do with competence of the current A.C.'s. It has everything to do with surrounding himself with people who he thinks he will be able to control. Esserman should know by now that a leader who surrounds himself with people who will not challenge him, is an insecure and ineffectual leader.

I have already heard who two of the new A.C.'s are. Esserman's choices for the four spots will show how good of a judge of talent he is. The choices are pretty limited due to the attrition of seasoned leaders and supervisors. I am not holding out much hope for his ability to select the best candidates.

So I guess we can put to rest that NHI article that ran in December about Velleca leaving of his own accord, to spend more time with his family.

Why do I detect that kennedy will somehow be brought into the fray. then we get two top guys that never went to the academy nor ever made an arrest. Esserman is keeping up with his past reputation [...]
Its sad that the AC's who have put their life into dedicated service to our city are asked to leave by yet another out of towner.I hope the police commission takes a good hard look at who Esserman trys to bring in.

I am wondering if each one of these assitant chiefs is entitled to the same retirement package that former Assitant Chiefs Stephanie Redding and Ariel Melendez received?

These moves are no less than a" shock and awe" position to get the attention of rank and file officers to drive home a message. This is business management 101 which is utilized in the civilian world as an attention grabbing wake up call. The other dimension is because these Assistant Chiefs had no bargaining power or protection due to the charter and the simple fact that Esseman knew they had no union support which could protect them. If my memory serves me correctly prior to his retirement Asst. Chief Vellecca made several attempts to push toward the direction that Local 530 vote on Asst. Chiefs to be unionized with the rank and file. This is classic psychological intimidation orchestrated by "Johnny" with the support and legal maneuvering of EsseBasemanplace sworn officers on notice that no one is expendable. If this is a strategic move planned by "King Johnny" them you should remember that "Every dog has his day".

I am not surprised that 'Ace' asked them all to leave. In the last four years I have seen them come from afar for a FAT paycheck only to leave the department just the way they found it. The leadership role here is nonexistent and it will continue to be that way for God knows how long. I am confident that the New Haven Assistant Chiefs will be fine as they secure meaningful careers in the other places....the other can just go back to CHI'town.

It's a good start. He needs to keep sweeping

Chief [...]

I'd be very impressed if you requested the resignation of Johnny D. THAT would start to move NH in the right direction

This out of State Chief just fired 3 of the NHPD's Assistant Chiefs and forced the 4th to retire 2 months ago!

These Cops were good cops. Esserman was never from New Haven and never a cop and he ended the careers of 4 of NHPDs career officers. How arrogant!

Adger was a great AC who did a lot of things for the black community. Now she doesnt fit into Essermans plan?

Is this guy a real leader? Heck no! He's a egotistical bully who is using New Haven for his own gain.

God help the NHPD.

Ok so this Chief dismantled Providence Police and turned all against each-other. Tore all units apart for walking beats and ran their overtime money budget through the roof then skipped town.I think our alderman need to speak to the City of Providence government and ask how he left them with a budget that no grants covered.
He tore the department apart and had some believe in his ways and and left them high and dry. He ruined their morale and ruined the cities expenses. Now he comes to New Haven and acts like a dictator and makes false promises. Our alderman need to watch how and what he spends because we cant afford his madness. He likes to be in the papers and make the community believe he will support them but all he cares about is himself.
Good job Mr. Mayor all you did was bring more problems to our already problem-ed city. Our ALDERMANIC BOARD needs to keep a close eye on him and his manipulated numbers (on crime and budget)! Its sad how he treated these assistant Chiefs what a disgrace!!!!!

Wow....this department will NEVER have any real command or direction. What's next? Are they going to ask the entire department to leave so he can start fresh....I think we, that live here, are in for some drastic fallout from this. I wonder what the make up is in the department as far as experienced officers. How many have been on the job 20+ years versus the lesser. What happens if the veterans decide to leave now with all this going on...the department has gone through so many changes of command and with each command they have to operate differently. Sure they can adapt but when is the added stress to their daily duties ever end? I don't think they are considering how this affects the officers that are doing the actual work.
Change can have a positive effect but when the officers feel they aren't respected for the work they do many will consider leaving. You cant be dedicated to a job that demands so much then get kicked in the teeth.
These three have been told that their careers are over at the NHPD whether they were considering retirement or not. Assistant Chief Adger has been on for 20 years, was she planning on an early retirement? She climbed the ladder and has several great achievements under her belt no matter if the rank and file respect how she got it. The point is she did it and became the first black female to make assistant chief only to have her career at the PD ripped from her. She surely will find another job that she is overqualified for and the NHPD will lose a great asset that THEY groomed for greatness only to trash it. Sickening. Assistant Chief Redding put in 27 years of great service to this community I know of many youth programs that he was involved in and he made a difference.I don't know much about the third guy from Chicago but it is clear that he had a desire to help the department since he didn't leave when Wheeler and Limon ditched the city.
I feel sorry for all the officers that do remain because this is a dream killer if there was any desire to achieve any rank other than Captain in the police department. Chief Esserman has proven that he is not a man of his word when he said he would not change the existing heads of the department. How can we the residents trust him?

Essen is obviously surrounding himself with allies! Arrogant??? To say the least! He's vindictive and will look to simply embarrass and then remove anyone that stands in his way! He wants respect and believes he's more than qualified to receive it! He'll be here a short time to only destroy the department. What's most unfortunate is that the city of New Haven will suffer because a classless and incompetent mayor continues to hire classless, incompetent, narcissistic people in control. When is the DOH going to investigate City Hall?!

Wow, what a mess! He can not work with ANY of his assistance??? Maybe he should go. New Haven does not need this nonsense right now. There is to much going on and too much work to be done. I pray they resolve this issue quickly and get on with an agenda to help the city of New Haven and it's youths!

Hey Petisia and Pat---Just tell him no thanks. When he then makes your life miserable, file a Hostile Workplace Complaint.

Another Mayor De Stefano puppeteer ..so very sad for the city although, citizens you voted your Mayor in and he controls your Police Dept.

Too in preparation once again, from a Lila mouse Yes Chief Leaving as well...to work for Malloy...

Now Politics at it's best it is a Mayor who has a Chief of Police do him a favor from a Governor....

.Pay attention New Haven citizens yes, will be more changes of the guards!!!!!

Being an Assistant Chief in the NHPD is like wearing a red shirt on old Star Trek.

If my back of the envelope calculations are right, we have had 10 ACs in 4 slots, in the last 4 years, for a "life expectancy" of 1.6 years. That is a 60% attrition rate per year.

This does not bode well for our city.

Fairhaven Dave, the NHI did not imply the decision was race based. Implies means necessarily follows. At most, the NHI suggested that race is an issue, and I don't think they did much of that. Given the population of New Haven, an all white management team would be politically problematic, and might present strategic and operational level problems.

@NHresident, thank you for your wonderful post and relaying the sentiment of many New Haven residents. You appear to have a real grasp on the spirit of the NHPD at this time. To expound on your post if I may: my caution to Mr. Esserman is that everyone is getting tired and fed up. Everyone... the good folks of New Haven and the poor officers who are truly dedicated to making a difference. As you proceed forward with your next group of leaders I hope you look at those in the department who have proven themselves with successes, can motivate and have the innate ability to lead. This has been sorely missing over the last few years. In the last several years the only success with the department was had by Chief Lewis. Like him or not he had 30 years of police experience, was tough but fair. He surrounded himself with leadership who also had years of experience. They tried to make a difference, saw crime statistics trend down and listened to the voice of the people. He was very astute in ascertaining who got results. In the last two years this environment disappeared. With a revolving door of leadership and the possible retirement of 80 plus people including many tenured and experienced personnel NHPD will be completely ineffective. You will be the chief of a shell of a department.

All Esserman has done here is show that he wont work with people who are more qualified to be chief than he is. Stack up the resumes and see for yourself who qualifies and who doesnt.So now we will see less qualified persons as AC's than what we have.A GOOD leader surrounds himself with very qualified and dedicated people that he kinows can do the job...A half assed leader surounds himself with people he doesnt have to worry will know more than him...it is obvious what we have here

To NH resident,

I am a nhpd officer, as of right now if the Chief decides to push hard enough there are over 60 veteran officers with 20 or more years who can retire. Another class will reach 20 years in June allowing about 25 more Officers, Detectives, Sgts and above the ability to leave. So me being a "cop" I'm not great with math but that looks to me like about a 1/5 of the entire PD can leave by June. Oh and if you don't think it could happen, we had 5 count them 5 retirements TODAY alone. Oh and don't forget the contract is being negotiated which means Johnny Boy will want to take stuff away from the cops creating another reason to retire. Johnny and Chief Burns class of 45 cops is a tactical move to back fill the 60 plus cops gearing up to leave. NH hold on it's gonna be fun ride

I told all of you this was going to happen.

posted by: Threefifths on December 12, 2011 9:39am
I bet he saw the had writing on the wall.I bet all of you more will be retiring very soon.Mark my words.

P.S.Esserman said Monday that it is premature to say how he will fill Velleca's or other positions.

"I'll discuss this all with the mayor

Sounds like King John is in control

I am not suprised on this move by the Chief. Anybody that is expected to manage a metro police force needs to have their own staff that can support the facts, possibilities and probabilities that the NHPD could be confronted with and deal with each in a new way. One can say what ever they wish about JD but being Mayor in any jurisdiction is a difficult positon and they must do what is correct. Having know the "new" Chief from his first tour of duty in NH, I believe his heart is here and he will take the steps necessary to make the City safer. I wish him and his new staff the best of luck and hope to see crime in the city reduced through progressive and positive community policing. Remember, it's about doing a job and not what one can put in their pocket. Too bad other city agencies can't follow DE's footsteps.

New Haven Residents! You got what you asked for! You voted Destefano back in, so enjoy the changes to come for the next two years. We all know who is the real boss of the NHPD and it isn't Esserman! I hope the City is out of control for the spring/summer and Destefano makes some more nutty changes. Everyone is complaining, but they had a chance to change the regime at city hall! I'll sit back and eat my popcorn now.

@Insider98. I agree 110% with you man!

The sad part is the people of New Haven suffer. Not the police officers or the Mayor. The taxpayers suffer at the expense of people playing politics. New Haven is a city full of people who don't know how to vote and don't exercise their right to vote. HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU VOTE FOR DESTEFANO, BUT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DUMB DECISIONS HE IS MAKING? Please don't tell me you believed all the nonsense he was saying during the political race. hahahaha! Get me a beer lol ;)

hey this is some real b s on two of the asst. chiefs redding and adger has done more for this city than any chief we have had in twenty plus years! but now you wanna bring in new asst. chief's that one hands are dirty with crime and the other female who has never worked a day on the streets since hired! ...black folk please look into this!

we must save asst. chief ADGER and REDDING JOB!

So why is it the 'rank and file' can't seem to get along with any chief? Am I the only one who sees the ironic connection in this story running the same day as a story about yet another corrupt cop? For those fretting that more cops might retire-- I say GOOD. The whole filthy house needs to be hosed out.

Reading the other comments has helped me to now understand Esserman's "strategy", which is exactly what Pastore did when he arrived.

That is eliminate anyone in the top level of management that has far more understanding, respect, and love for the community than he does, like Redding and Adger in this case. They are a threat to his ego, and with there experience they understand more than any other police officers in the department the level of his mistakes that will hurt the department. This is due to their proximity to operations, and years of service, particularly Pat Redding, who was a real cop at one time.

Pastore forced out all of Chief Farrell's Majors and Commanders, who were his next line of managers(Gallo, Conners, O'Conner, Muller, and some ten others), and those that he could blackmail he place d in positions of responsibility. Why? So that if any of them tried to go public with his hidden agenda ...he could quickly threaten them with public exposure, and stop them.

Esserman's agenda is anybody's guess, but it has nothing to do with a true concern for the people of New Haven. Maybe the institutions such as Yale, which he can use to enhance his own self-worth, BUT MAKE NO MISTAKES HE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF NEW HAVEN, AND PARTICULARLY THE NEIGHORHOODS THAT SUFFER WITH THE MOST GUN VIOLENCE THAT ARE LEAST PROTECTED.

He will then go on a spree of hiring and training new officers which he will too quickly push forward into positions of responsibility.

Their lack of experience will insure he will receive no negative feedback, which hurt's his continued overly sensitive ego. This strategy was pursued by Pastore for reasons of ignorance; the newer the cops, the more ignorant they were of his responsibilities and duties, and they were more fearful of his retaliation.(many veterans had stood up to him, some were slandered in the press and run out of the department, and suffered a variety of attacks and punishments, but survived. He then went on his campaign of blaming any and all veterans as the cause of the departments and the public's problems, which many of the inexperienced, ill informed, or hateful individuals, readily grasped and spread, ostracizing the most experienced officers, who would have been a resource and foundation for the operations of the department.)

Esserman will not, and can not address the biggest issues in this city's law enforcement, that is the bizarre levels of violence in the inner city. It is like a cancer that management wants to act does not cross certain streets in the city. "As long as it stays in "their" neighborhood who cares".(I apologize for wriing that) That is the strategy that has been in place for years, and if you live in those neighborhoods you know what I am saying.

Esserman has a great resume, that's all, and since he never has an emotional commitment to any department he works for, it is very easy to detach at the moments of the hardest decisions. In other words he was not raised here, his parents, aunts, uncles, the neighbors and childhood friends from the neighborhood he grew up in, in New Haven don't exist. He did not attend schools here, so he has no peers to be responsible to; he did not attend a church or synagogue here, where parishoners could be proud of his becoming chief. He did not marry here, or have his children born here. These are the parts of a life that made a chief so morally and ethically responsible to try and do the best job possible. It wasn't just a resume, it was a commtiment, and love for so many people that were a part of their lives, that they feared failure and not doing the right thing, for the shame of having to face everyone they grew up with in this city.

Esseman's main concern is the league of professional police management "carpetbaggers", that lives on the internet, and the Mayor keeps plucking these ... from.

Pastore embarrassed his familly, actually he betrayed them, most of those who worked with him, and had trusted him realized that if he could do that to his family, everyone else was at risk of harm if he was ever given any power at all.

Wearing and Ortiz, born and raised here inherited a department that had so many residual problems from the destruction created by Pastore/Esserman it was far beyond their skill level. Plus they had allowed themselves to become isolated from or creating a circle of allies within the department. No one person can run a police department. The most successful chiefs have built a close circle of allies and associates, within the department, that realize only one can have the title of "chief", but a chief needs a loyal group surrounding her or him, who think and act, and behave as a chief should, and who are truly loyal to whoever has to sit in the chief's seat. Wearing and Ortiz did not do this.



Farrell, Marone, DiLieto, Ahearn, all with deep roots to New Haven, all worked with the best intentions for the working families of this city. All started there careers on walking beats for the first two years of their careers. Yes the "walking beats" that Esserman acts as if he invented. That is how policing people is learned, and the humanity needed to be a good cop is born, on the walking beat, when they were rookies, and respectful of the people in the community they discovered as they walked.

Those same walking beats that were eliminated for the rookies chosen by Esserman/Pastore, coming through their recruit classes, that they saw as the type they wanted to rush into management that would never question their malfeasance. Yes, Pastore planted the seeds for this mess, and spread the manure; Esserman became the perfect manager for him, he knew nothing about Pastore unless Pastore told him, and he was desperate to somehow become a chief of police without ever being a beat cop as a rookie; not when you have been a "chief" several times over.

@HhE - After reading this article again this morning (often they change or update the text) I still cannot find anything being stated about his replacements. For all you know he could have an African American, an Asian, a Latino, and a Muslim Scandinavian slated. Who knows? So the NHI stating that the information is spreading thru the African American community like wildfire is implying (at the very least speculating) that the community thinks it is going to be a problem. Can someone tell me why? IF the assistant chiefs offices turn into a caucasian sausage festival we should start to bellow, but currently...?

I agree race IS a huge factor in this town. Undeniable. I also think firing people who have worked hard for the community sucks. I would suggest looking at the private sector tho. CEO changes often mean several layers of the pyramid below are replaced with trusted hands from outside the company. It's a common practice. The further you claw your way up the chain of command, the more likely you are going to be knocked off.

NO CONFIDENCE!!!!

My Prediction is that Mayor Johnny D will make the following new chiefs with the Approval of NICK P. Lt. Reddish,Lt Casanova and Lt.dadio Covering all bases.Let's see if I am correct...

E Copeland:

How do you propose cleaning house? Are you going to hire all new people and make the city raise the recruitment standards? Should all new hires have college degrees?

Sounds like a plan that will require raising the salary, benefits and job security provisions. It will not happen. The current regime does not realize you can't get water from a rock. When the salary and benefits are reduced you reduce the caliber of candidates applying.

[...]

The merry-go-round continues at the NHPD. It seems that what Esserman really wants is a cadre of Yes-ermen. I'm not sure that's healthy for any of us. It's also curious why it is that Esserman can't work with any of these ACs. Since they will all retire under the current contract, they will all get bumped up one grade and likely collect another $20K a year in pension for the rest of their lives, just like AC Redding.

That will create a bigger drain on the pension fund which has less than 50% of what it needs to meet the promises made. And in the meantime, we'll spend more than a half a million dollars a year on another set of Esserman look-alikes. Interesting budget analysis. I can't wait to look at the upcoming budget from this fat department.

By the way, these ACs have done DeStefano's bidding and welcomed Esserman to the fold - wonder how it feels to have the tire tracks on their backs?

Monty Burn is in charge of the new haven police department. Who will be the Department's Mr. Smithers? Who joins the ride Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders? Sorry but the inside scoop is Disco Stu has no shot and Chief Wiggum is embroiled in a scandal...

I don't understand all the criticism of Esserman here. It is clear that New Haven has a crime problem and that our method of policing needs to change. So Esserman - who has brought success from Providence utilizing a method that has saved inner cities around the nation and helped New Haven in the 1990s - needs to be able to fully implement this new method. And that means he has to choose his team.

When I saw this I thought it had to be some kind of a bad joke. Really??? freaken really!! 4 more will be retiring with Asst. Chief pay!!What a joke...work with what you got chief!

Each and every day I feel for our officers, pawns in JD's game. How are they suppose to do their jobs when it seems like every year we change the heads and have to start all over again with new plans and ideas. my god again this is a sad joke.

This Is One of The Most Inteligent Things Any Man Has Done In The City of New Haven. Now! If Someone Would Clean Up The Rest of The City ...

@Theresa-- it seems it is quite possible for an NHPD member to make $174,000/yr, see the story about the cop who retired rather than explain taking $300. So, I really do not want to hear about how 'underpaid' cops are.

Ive read all of the commentaries over the last 24 hours which I think all gave valid and intelligent remarks. The person who should be to blame here is Mayor Destefano because it is very apparent that he has some sort of axe to grind where the NHPD is concerned ... The other theory as to why there is the push to rid the assistant chiefs especially Adger is because like Kermit Carolina she was not in support of the mayors campaign for his re-election but opted to support the other candidate. ...

The nerve of him asking Petisia Adger to leave. Intelligent black woman deserving of her role...Stand your ground

Not opinionated whether this is good or bad. Am thinking Ca-ching $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
What else is new?

No matter who may or may not like of the assistant chiefs please remember one thing: Esserman, as any new chief hired, was brought here to lead the department and reduce violent crime.

All four of the chiefs were in command positions while 34 homicides were committed. Step one, replace Limon. Step two, replace the assistants.

Adger, Redding and others were in key decision making positions while certain neighborhoods were having record number of homicides. Maybe a change isn't the worse thing in the world.

You Mean To Tell Me That They Did Not Serve Their Country In A War and They Earn $175.000.00 per. Yr. "Draft Doggers". I Did'nt Write The Law Back Then.

Some choice he is giving.
Esserman said Redding had a "dignified and honorable" response to his request. "I would expect nothing less from each and every one of the assistant chiefs."

esserman is following john's orders and he won't last long as chief. Did these AC's not give to mayoral campaign, or not give enough? They were OK on Limon's watch. What choices has the MAYOR made for these positions?

Sounds like another lynching attempt on Adger like john's ongoing one with Kermit Carolina. Does the mayor ever stop? He was out to get Adger for what ever reasons and ? may added the others to make it look non racial, but it IS. I wonder how many of the new AC'c that john will name will be Hispanic? These positions should look like the community they serve.

Policing in New Haven has become like nursing at YNHH. There, a nurse of 20+ years, ? a nurse manager, 15 min. before end of day shift was escorted out by police. Why? Her services were no longer needed. No option like these AC's to make their decision to retire or resign. The same practice was used at CMHC on doctors. I was encouraged to apply for a head nurse position by the brass. And was told I would get it. I declined as in non unionized management you don't have a leg to stand on. Also seeing how they treated others I KNEW what they would do for me.

What New Haven needs is registered voters who exercise voting and STOP reelecting jd. There will be no normality, crime reduction, less murders, etc. as long as they keep THAT mayor and chief of police. The only up side if there is one, is that these individuals if they retire will do so at a chief salary.

<<Esserman will not, and can not address the biggest issues in this city's law enforcement, that is the bizarre levels of violence in the inner city. It is like a cancer that management wants to act does not cross certain streets in the city. "As long as it stays in "their" neighborhood who cares".(I apologize for wriing that) That is the strategy that has been in place for years, and if you live in those neighborhoods you know what I am saying.>>


So leadership in the Nhpd has failed and the culture in the department is to let certain parts of the city fail. And people think, by cleaning house the chief has done an awful thing? Forked tongues!

I think Ellis Copeland should be named an assistant police chief. No actual police expeirence is needed i.e.. being a certified police officer, walking a beat as a patrol officer, issuing infraction tickets, making misdemeanor or felony arrests, missing holidays with your family so you protect the people of the city who dont stand behind you. Ellis Copeland always has the answers when it comes to police issues. I say lets give him a chance.

for all you people out there that believe change is good,..(yes, i agree with the right man and plan),..the tax payers and the people of new haven will suffer yet again if top cop esserman terminates the k-9 unit,..i've said it before and boy, it may become a reality indeed,...he's already mentioned he see's no need to put on any more k-9's,..and questions why the k-9 officers need a take home car???? are you kidding me...just more proof that he cares more about the common criminal than he does the cop on the street or the people of new haven,....

@ Ellis Copeland

The "rank and file" of the NHPD got along with Chief Lewis just fine. Why did you leave him out in your rant?

Exiled:
Using your logic we should have and it would have been a good thing to replace DeStefano. )

That Sucks!!!Can't understand if he is demanding that they simply step down from their AC positions, or that they leave the Department completely.

"New police Chief Dean Esserman has asked his three remaining assistant police chiefs to move on so that he can pick his own team of top aides."

Either way, it sucks to be in their shoes ... especially AC Adger who has always had the community's back when it comes to dealing with NHPD. So much for community policing. It's clear this Chief will do whatever the Mayor says, and doesn't care that he already has an effective AC who has the strong support of many different segments of the community.

@SB093 & Just the facts:

1) My first order of business would be to identify and get rid of every corrupt cop. My second order of business would be locating a spine donor for El Jefe Johnny so he could negotiate an intelligent contract that doesn't give away the whole store. My third order of business would be to impose a residency requirement.

2) Lewis was here for what, 10 minutes, before jumping to the lusher pastures? I said during his entire tenure he was a stooge. That's why the rank and file "loved" him. He was no threat to the corrupt status quo.

@Noteworthy Well, the only thing I can see as the difference in "change" is that Johnny D was a choice by the masses, whereas 4 assistant chiefs is the choice of the top cop.

Like it or not Mayor McCheese won. He brought in a new chief. I look at it as if the guy cannot pick his people he can always just throw that up as an excuse, "well if I had MY team in place, yatta, yatta,yatta."

I take it from your posts you are not a fan of Johnny D, the same as many former city employees and some current ones. Not sure how much destefano had to play it decision. And I am not defending the chief but just pointing out facts like 34 homicides, almost all of which in the Black community, and all under this police command staff. I am sure the chief has marching orders to quell the homicide rate. If the guy feels he cannot do it with this group perhaps he reason to doubt he cannot. I mean they don't have the best track record last year.

I am with you 100% on need for change. Maybe this change will do well for you all.

Lets be serious. Patisia Adger is and never was qualified for that position. ... Does anyone ever wonder why the mayor would bring a NEW POLICE CHIEF in who left Providence after being scolded by that Mayor for inappropriate comments to one of the PD's officers? Good Luck!

To Mike it UP....Mike it DOWN re: Adger, she IS qualified for position. ... The same opportunities she took advantage of were far more readily available to you as a Caucasian. It is sad that white America don't want a person of African descent to have a DAM thing. You sound like a NHPD who transferred from EHPD. The comment re: esserman and his former mayor and why jd took him back. That is clear, for same reason East Haven took Gallo in as chief after he was exiled to the dog pound by the NHPD. Is or was he qualified for his position? A position he may not have long when the DOJ and FBI finish their investigation. At least I and many others hope he does not. Even his lawyer feels he is co conspirator number one. The finger points to him and no one else. The gross heinous and egregious behavior of East Haven's mayor and police chief is despicable. Mayors are all looking for one who will be obedient. All this is as the politicians say, garbage in, garbage out. And remember, the Afro Americans UNLIKE all the other immigrants were forced here against their will and are still enslaved. ...

Chief Esserman is known as an expert in his field. I've worked with him in both Stamford and Providence, where I saw him turn around the attitude and productivity of both departments. His experience and knowledge is valued throughout the country. Have any of the people commenting on this article ever run police force? Our city needs some big, drastic changes and this is one of the people that is going to do that. Chief Esserman is not afraid to make the difficult choices and decisions to make that change. Isn't that what most of you, commenting here daily, wanted? It's much, much needed!

@ Snoopy

No one alive today forced any African American to this continent. An African American is currently CEO of our country. There are more African Americans in city government positions than any other race. 99.999% of Scientists agree that ethnicity has no bearing on ability outside of 'some' professional sports.

This is not a racist or sexist move IMHO. Playing that card only devalues your hand. Let the man pick his team like Ness did when he cleaned up Chicago.

"I'm sending a message," he said. "We want our officers out walking." He said he has instructed officers to start parking their cars more often and walking the street.

• NHPD Chief Frank Limon, 2010
  
  http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/chief_to_cops_walk_the_beat/

Did You Know "Community Policesing" Is Another Name For "Policesing Black Men". Read The Directive Which Was Published In 1968.

The police and government can not stop the ... behavior in the black community. They have to put an end to it. Let's get it right for a change. Parents need to be parents and teach right from wrong. And why do we need to understand the black community. Are they not people too?
For the 5% of people committing violent crimes.... the other 95 % deserve better. PS Adger fight this...

@anon

Every year they say walking beats or bike cops. Every year you get it for a week or two when the warmer weather comes and it is most needed...they they stop and we are told we have to many officers on vacation right now to do it. and another summer goes buy of screaming and shooting and we start the promise cycle all over again.

It is all a shell game to keep the people quite. And I in no way blame this on the men in blue. I blame it on the administarion having there hands in the PD far more than they should! (I mean you JD)