Wednesday was the first day on the job for New Haven Police since the public announcement of former Chief Dean Esserman’s resignation.
According to the city's police charter, New Haven’s mayor has the authority to appoint a new chief.
Mayor Toni Harp has not announced plans about the search for a permanent replacement, but the city’s Director of Communications Laurence Grotheer said she would like police to continue initiatives from Esserman’s tenure as the city’s top cop.
"Right now we’re still adjusting to the news of the chief’s resignation," Grotheer said.
For now, Assistant Chief Anthony Campbell will still serve as New Haven’s interim police chief.
“Making sure the morale of the officers in the department is up and also trying to navigate as the department starts the healing process," Campbell said.
Among the most vocal critics of former Chief Esserman’s leadership and public outbursts was the New Haven Police union. Members voted 170-42 that they had "no confidence" in Esserman in June.
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“This uniform represents stability, peace, law, justice for many people. But for a lot of people, it represents injustice, pain, suffering," Campbell said.
"The morale in the department was great on chief Esserman’s absence,” union president Craig Miller said of the time since Harp placed Esserman on a 15-day paid leave on July 26. Esserman then immediately transitioned to sick leave on Aug. 15 before his resignation effective Sept. 2.
The next chief needs to do a better job representing the department, Miller said.
"Qualities Campbell has," Miller said. "Good speaker, he's well respected, he likes to work with the community, always answers your calls."
According to the city's police charter, qualifications to serve as chief include having earned a college bachelor’s degree and five years supervising a police department with at least 200 employees that serves a population of at least 100,000 residents.
"I don't know that any decision has been made what a search committee will look like," Grotheer said.
Harp wants the next chief to stay committed to community policing, Grotheer said.
“She knows that it is largely responsible for decreasing crime rates in the city over the past five years,” he said.
Officers walking their beats, technology investments like ShotSpotter that detects gunfire and weekly crime statistics meetings are other initiatives Grotheer said the mayor wants preserved under the next chief of police.
"That data driven analysis and information has also helped bring crime down in New Haven," Grotheer said.
The terms and conditions of Esserman's resignation agreement have not yet been released to the public.
