Hartford hears from residents about replacing police chief

Hartford residents will soon have a chance to say what qualities they want in the city’s next police chief, but not who they would like to see in the role.

To listen to residents, city officials will hold a handful of community listening sessions this month. These meetings take place in different neighborhoods throughout the city and are similar to public comment during an official city meeting. Residents have the opportunity to speak into a microphone and share their wishes for the next boss. The sessions are recorded.

“The listening sessions will be targeted at different constituencies and different parts of the community,” Corza said. “We want to get a broad range of voices before we start naming names.”

However, they are not looking for candidates.

“When we first announced hearings, a big sticking point was that we didn’t want to hear names,” said Cristian Corza, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff. “We first wanted to hear exactly what members of the community wanted in a police chief. We didn’t want individuals to be a sticking point, we want substance first. We will wait until after the wiretapping sessions to identify people.”

Police Chief Jason Thody, who has led the department since 2020, announced his resignation in March.

The city said there is no set timeline for finding a replacement and the process could take several months.

The last time a new chief was nominated, in 2020, the city did not hold hearings, leading some to criticize the process as not inclusive. Chavon Campbell, the new director of the Office of Violence Prevention, has been meeting with community organizations to facilitate the hearing sessions.

“This new approach is critical,” Campbell said. “We must ensure that community public safety is a priority. Talking to a lot of people in the community, they want public safety, they believe in public safety, they just want to make sure they are represented when it comes to public safety.”

Campbell said the plan is to conduct at least two listening sessions this month in person and at different locations around the city. Further meetings are planned for next month.

“Some of the questions we want to ask are what the public thinks is important in terms of skills and background experience,” Campbell said. “Of course we have a job description, but the community is an essential part of it. We take community input just as seriously as qualifications.”

According to city charter, the mayor appoints a new police chief. The City Council has 60 days to vote on the nomination. A proposed candidate for the position may become acting police chief until formally sworn in by the council. However, the city said Thody will remain in office until a new chief is sworn in.

City Council President Shirley Surgeon praised the hearing sessions and said she welcomed engaging the community in the process. The City Council, which has no direct role in the search process, cannot approve a candidate until they are selected. The surgeon said she would like to see an emphasis on community policing.

“If I were asked for my opinion, I would look for someone who has a strong commitment to the community. I love the concept of community service workers working in the community. This is what I want to see more than anything. This is who I am as a resident of the city of Hartford,” Surgeon said.

“Getting more officers on the streets and in the community,” Surgeon said. “Diversity is important. But more than anything, I would want experience and a commitment to the community policing model.”

Councilman Josh Michtom, who sits on the Public Safety Committee, said he believes the City Council should have greater control over the city’s police force and has been vocal about hiring more officers to solve the city’s problems. Michtom said he would like the next police chief to be more like the community.

“I think it’s a great thing to get the community involved. It’s a really stark contrast to last time when there was no consultation process at all,” Michtom said. “I hope to find someone willing to break with police orthodoxy. It seems like what unites police chiefs is that they believe the solution to the city’s problems is more police.”

“It would be great to find a leader of color,” Michtom said. “But more important is a person who represents the interests of people of color first. So representation is important, but it also doesn’t seal the deal.”

The process has already been criticized by activists in the city.

Some city and Black Lives Matter activists have announced that the administration is targeting a veteran black police lieutenant because of his race and eliminating him from the race for police chief. Former Hartford NAACP President Ula Dodson said Arulampalam should step in and appoint the officer to lead the city’s police force.

However, the mayor’s office maintains that no individual names are currently being reviewed or withheld from the process.

Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected]