A police union leader cited an alleged hostile work environment, retaliation, and lack of leadership.
The Elm City Local union voted no confidence in Police Chief Dean Esserman on Thursday, according to the New Haven Independent.
Esserman was in Washington, D.C., but told the Independent he plans to work with his critics to improve the city following the 170 to 42 vote.
“The New Haven Police Department and its officers have much to contribute with their professionalism and commitment to community policing,” Esserman told the Independent. “This labor dispute, during this present period of labor negotiations for a new contract, is important and I will sit down to listen and to work together toward a resolution.”
Esserman received a no confidence vote in 2009 when he was a colonel with the Providence, Rhode Island Police Department, according to a https://youtu.be/A27pKcRjFfU" target="_blank">WPRI-TV report. According to WTNH, 69 percent voted no confidence, and he resigned two years later.
The New Haven Independent’s Paul Bass said the city is on edge after the recent police shootings in Baton Rouge and St. Paul, and the killing of five police officers in Dallas. He said Friday night's Black Lives Matter Rally on the New Haven Green is when Esserman does his best work.
“This is A, when Esserman can show the work the department has done and the leadership, and B, this is where it will be put to the test how of how strong the relationship is with the police, that we believe is strong,” Bass said.
Crime has decreased in New Haven during Esserman’s five-year tenure. At a press conference on Wednesday, Police Union Vice President David Guliuzza cited an alleged hostile work environment, retaliation, and lack of leadership, according to The New Haven Register.
“Make no mistake, if crime is down in the city of New Haven it’s due to the men and women of the New Haven Police Department and what we do on the street and how we interact with our community,” Guliuzza said at the press conference. “We put ourselves out there, we make ourselves visible. We have very good community relations when we’re out on the road.”
In 2011, officers voted no confidence in former Police Chief Frank Limon, who resigned shortly after, according to The New Haven Register.
Esserman was reappointed by Mayor Toni Harp in April, 2014, with unanimous support from the Board of Alders. His appointment runs through the end of January 2018.
Katie Burns is an intern at WNPR.