NEW HAVEN, Conn. — It's expected New Haven's Board of Alders will approve Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson as the city's new full-time Chief during their July 5 meeting.
At the Board of Alders meeting Monday night, there would not be any discussion of Jacobson's nomination, just an acknowledgment of his nomination by the Mayor. And Jacobson said he can't wait to bring stability to an office that has had a revolving door in recent years.
"I feel good and I feel like it was a long process because that's what I think the Board of Alders wanted," Jacobson said several hours before the City Hall meeting.
Two of the reasons the Board of Alders turned down former Acting Chief Renee Dominguez's nomination for the permanent Chief's job is they say she did not submit a plan on improving police-community relations and there was no diversity among the upper ranks of the department
"I have a plan to diversify the upper ranks to the best of my ability and I have a plan to get officers to build trust with the community which is an important part of all this," Jacobson said.
He will submit his extensive plan to the Alders' aldermanic affairs committee later this month. He says his plan includes information that he draws from inside the police department and the community, including community leaders.
"Just over the last two weeks I've been riding with the district managers at night checking out what's going on, what they think we need, and talking to street level officers about how they feel about the police department," Jacobson said.
"As I've said many times, Assistant Chief Jacobson I think is fit for the job, shown that he is dedicated to the community, a good guy and up for the task," said Mayor Justin Elicker (D-New Haven).
The city spent nearly $51,000 to conduct a nationwide search for the new chief, which yielded 15 applicants. But why was there no search before Elicker nominated Dominguez.
"Acting Chief Dominguez was acting Chief for over five months," the Elicker said. "So she had five months to show what she could do on the job and she was very, very solid."
Elicker says he simply didn't know just how extensive Jacobson's abilities to lead the department are until the application and interview process were complete.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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