The chief of police of New Haven has resigned, effective Nov. 15.
Police Chief Frank Limon served 19 months of his four-year agreement with the city.
New Haven John DeStefano said Limon resigned for personal reasons and will continue to advise the department as a consultant for the remainder of the fiscal year for $90,000 under contract until June 30, 2012.
Limon appointed Assistant Chief John Velleca to serve as acting chief until Limon returns. That date has not been released.
DeStefano said he expects to announce a new chief of the department at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Sources confirmed with NBC Connecticut that DeStefano will name Dean Esserman to the position.
Esserman, was a part of the New Haven Police Department in the 1990s, and helped establish community policing in New Haven, the paper reported.
DeStefano said the announcement about Limon “follows about two weeks of discussion between the chief and I regarding his personal circumstances and regarding, mutually, our goals for the department.”
DeStefano called Limon a "decent, straight-forward partner" and said this was a mutual agreement.
"Chief worked hard. I think he provided solid leadership and I look forward to working with the men and women of the department," DeStefano said.
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Over the weekend, the New Haven Independent reported that Limon cleaned out his office on Friday.
This weekend, the spokesman for the mayor said the chief is taking several weeks off to visit family in Chicago and has not left the department.
“Frank Limon is chief of the department. Frank Limon, I expect to continue to be chief of the department,” Mayor John DeStefano told the New Haven Register over the weekend.
Limon came to New Haven in April 2010, after serving as police chief for River Forest, Illinois and running the Organized Crime Division for the Chicago Police Department. His contract was through Feb. 1, 2014.
Over the last 19 months, the number of homicides in the city has risen. There were 27 as of Oct. 13.
Jeffrey Kerekes, who’s running as an independent against Mayor DeStefano in the upcoming mayoral election, issued a statement on Sunday night, saying, “John DeStefano is lying about the future of Chief Limon in order to cover his political hide. He needs to quit playing politics with our safety by playing fast and loose with the truth.”
