Police Chief Esserman on hot seat again after incident at restaurant Harp weighs action after latest incident

Chief Dean Esserman Chief Dean Esserman Photo: Register File Photo Photo: Register File Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Police Chief Esserman on hot seat again after incident at restaurant 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> Mayor Toni Harp said she is looking at imposing some form of discipline on Police Chief Dean Esserman.

Harp on Sunday said she is reacting to an incident that a witness told her occurred at Archie Moore’s restaurant on Willow Street.

In recent weeks, the witness said the chief berated a waitress about the service and caused a disturbance to the point where some patrons asked to be moved to another table.

“I really think he is a good chief, but these incidents are just baffling. I will be sitting down with my top staff on Monday to look at our options,” said Harp, who mentioned the possibility of a sabbatical for Esserman.

“It is hard to believe these things happen. When he is with me, he is very respectful,” the mayor said.

Alder David Reyes, D-5, said he brought the incident to Harp’s attention after speaking to a witness, who then spoke directly with the mayor on Friday.

Reyes said as the face of the department, this behavior is not acceptable. “He should know better than that,” the alder said.

The mayor said she spoke to Esserman about the incident.

“He was basically very contrite. He was very apologetic. He was very self-aware. His personal life has been difficult. He is in a position of transition,” Harp said of the chief’s divorce.

Given the pressures on him from the job and personal circumstances, she said it has been a tough time for him.

Esserman did not return a call seeking comment.

Police Union Vice President Sgt. David Guliuzza said he and another officer spoke to witnesses at Archie Moore’s to confirm what happened.

“It’s pretty much a black eye for the department, once again,” Guliuzza said. “This is a well-established pattern of behavior for the chief,” Guliuzza charged.

Guliuzza said that behavior “is also exhibited inside the department. Our concern is that he lacks the leadership skills necessary to lead the department.”

“He has some issues dealing with the public and dealing in public,” Guliuzza said.

Earlier this month the police union voted 170-42 that it had “no-confidence” in Esserman, 80 percent of those who voted. The number of sworn officers was estimated at 390 by Guliuzza, but Esserman said it was 450.

Harp said Esserman has overseen a reduction in crime, expanded community policing and is putting in place a solution to supervision at the police lockup now that the state no longer pays for marshals to do the job.

“He has moved the department forward,” she said.

Union officials did not agree.

Guliuzza said Esserman is a “benefactor of the times, crime is down across the country,” which he credited to the actions of the members of the force, rather than Esserman’s leadership.

Esserman this month was one of 30 law enforcement personnel, civil rights and faith leaders who met with President Barack Obama on bringing police and the communities they serve together in light of deadly police shootings in Louisiana and Minnestora and the subsequent attacks on police in Texas and Baton Rouge.

The New Haven chief has said previously that perhaps his department could develop a national curriculum that could be used to teach community policing around the country. He said Obama “gave a shout-out” to New Haven and Los Angeles for “doing a lot of things right.”

In December 2014, Esserman was given a written reprimand at a September Yale-Army football game when he chastised an usher at the game who asked to see his ticket. The complaint filed against Esserman alleged that he threatened to “shut the whole game down” if the usher was not removed from the game.

Harp warned him then that “more severe consequences” would follow, if such an incident happened again.

Esserman said at the time that he “accepts the (Harp) letter without reservation.”

“No one is above the law or the rules, myself included,” he said in 2014. “Wrong is wrong.”

Officer Craig Miller, the president of the police union, said everything in the department is based on “progressive discipline,” but Esserman keeps doing the same thing.

“A zebra can’t changed their stripes,” Miller said of the chief’s behavior. “It is the same behavior at different locations.”