New Haven Police Chief James Lewis made it official Wednesday he’s retiring. Now the search for new leadership starts immediately.
Chief Lewis is headed home to Wisconsin after 18 months in New Haven.
His contract is up in February. Chief Lewis was offered a contract extension and most of the people who commented in a newspaper article about him leaving said he should stay. But his family played a big role in his decision. “I got an email from my daughter and she said ‘I read the article in the paper dad’ and she says, ‘the wrong people voted, I vote it's time for you to come home,’ and it is”, the chief said.
It will be an emotional farewell to the department he helped turn around in a short time. He's credited with working out a new union contract and resurrecting the Narcotics Task Force.
“Crime is down 12% this year, homicide is down 50% and shootings down 10%. I think Chief Lewis has done a great job resetting the department,” says Mayor John DeStefano, who now has to turn his attention to a nationwide search for another chief.
Chief Lewis has agreed to stay until the new person is in place. “I think addressing the crime issues to working with these youths to get them back to school there’s still lots of work, ” he said.
Mayor DeStefano says he expects to swear in a new chief between the next two and four months.
