Police union calls for Justice Dept. probe into city's chief. He calls it sour grapes
Bridgeport's police union accuses Chief Roderick Porter of retaliation and discrimination, but he told Hearst Media that the complaints come from officers accustomed to "entitlement and privilege."
More Stories
Bridgeport’s police union is now asking the feds to investigate their police chief, but he claims the complaints are sour grapes from officers no longer enjoying “entitlement and privilege.”
It’s the latest escalation in the growing battle between Chief Roderick Porter and some of his own officers.
Despite the union pressure, Mayor Joe Ganim said he won’t sideline Porter before an outside law firm conducts an independent review.
ESCALATING FIGHT
Since Porter took over there years ago, crime has dropped – but clashes with the police union are growing. On Tuesday, AFSCME Council 4 called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate their claims of retaliation and discrimination.
“We saw people that he didn’t like become targets,” union president Mike Salemme III told reporters. “Getting demoted, you know, fired, skipped on promotions.”
Porter did not respond to a request for comment but told Hearst Connecticut Media that the complaints are coming from officers who received “entitlement and privilege” under previous chiefs.
“When those who have, or are used to having that, are not allowed to dictate the promotion process, get assignments and special assignments they are accustomed to, get the promotions they want, or unfettered access to overtime, and they don’t want to be held accountable, unfortunately these are the types of complaints that you get,” Porter told Hearst.
Salemme repeated his calls to place Porter on administrative leave after several officers filed federal lawsuits and complaints with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. The union held a “no confidence” vote against Porter last year.
OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION
Ganim has argued that a suspension is premature. The city has hired the outside law firm of Jackson Lewis to investigate but has not offered a timeline for the probe.
“At this point, the Department of Justice is the only entity we would trust to come in and conduct a thorough independent review of Bridgeport Police Department's internal policies and practices,” said Officer Carlos Pabon Jr., head of the minority police organization Bridgeport Guardians. “The DOJ has the experience, the knowledge, the resources, to conduct a deep dive and identify systemic issues and ensure that any problems that are uncovered are properly addressed.”
Neither Ganim nor city attorney Tyisha Toms returned calls for comment on Tuesday.
“Only the mayor can fix this,” said Council 4 executive director Jody Barr. “I’ve got two calls into the mayor’s office that were both left unanswered. That’s unacceptable.”
