Ronnell Higgins sworn in as CT's new public safety commissioner

On Monday, Ronnell Higgins took the oath as the new commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

“My hope for this new role is first and foremost to restore whatever trust that was lost,” Higgins said after being sworn in as Commissioner.

Higgins assumed the role of commissioner after his predecessor, James Rovella, retired earlier this year.

“I just thought, as we said when we first introduced Ronnell that it was a good time for a fresh start,” Gov. Ned Lamont said.

Higgins said he’s already met with Ken Barone, who co-authored the report that led to an investigation into state police regarding falsified tickets. Higgins said there are still a lot of questions that need answering, and that more meetings are scheduled in the future.

“First and foremost we’re going to start looking at professional standards, again, as I shared before, ensuring that our practices are in alignment with our policies, making sure that things are being managed at the troop level. Making sure that when things do come to use that they’re managed appropriately,” Higgins said.

“If there were some accidents that happened then so be it, if there are people that did something purposefully, they’ll be taken into account,” Lamont said.

In addition, Higgins also stressed the importance of recruitment and retention for a police force that Higgins said currently has roughly 260 openings.

“Many police departments are losing, losing people daily. We have a lot of talent here and we have to figure out how we can sustain the talent within this agency so that we can continue to grow and develop,” Higgins said.