NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Thursday night the New Haven Board of Police Commissioners voted unanimously to fire a police sergeant that had been on paid leave since April as a result of what an internal affairs investigation uncovered about her encounter with a member of the public last year during a traffic stop. The police union now plans to fight the firing.
The investigation revealed Sgt. Shayna Kendall, a 13-year New Haven Police Department veteran, didn't follow procedure during a traffic stop and then allegedly lied about it.
After more than two hours in executive session, with Kendall and her attorneys, the Board fired her, adopting the recommendation of Police Chief Karl Jacobson, who said Kendall's actions undermined the public's trust.
"We had a complainant in here that was mistreated, that was stopped by an officer who never identified herself," Jacobson said. "And the subsequent investigation led to some inaccuracies and untruthfulness (on the part of Kendall)."
The incident in question occurred during a July 2021 traffic stop after the complainant beeped her horn at Kendall, who failed to go when a traffic light turned green. Then, Kendall allegedly circled in behind the complainant and berated the individual.
"There was no documentation (of the incident) and no body camera," Jacobson added, noting Kendall didn't activate her body camera
"The investigation was thorough and the officers took their time," Jacobson said. "They also gave Sgt. Kendall a follow-up interview to clear some things up to which nothing was cleared up."
In other words, Kendall stuck to her original story. The New Haven Police Union Elm City Local issued the following statement to FOX61 in response to Kendall's firing:
"Sgt. Shayna Kendall's employment was terminated by the Board of Police Commissioners last night. The Union is disappointed in the Commission's decision in light of the serious due process concerns that were raised and weakness of the untruthfulness claims. The Union will file a grievance and other complaints for Sgt. Kendall as she is entitled to all the protection enumerated in our Collective Bargaining Agreement. As this is an ongoing and pending matter, the Union will not comment further at this time."
"Untruthfulness is untruthfulness," Jacobson added. "I believe that if you look at Sgt. Kendall's past history with this police department. There were some bright spots but there was some also red flags."
The civilian review board also recommended severe discipline, potentially including termination.
"It's my job to hold officers accountable and it's my job to show the community that we're gonna hold officers accountable," Jacobson said. "My message to the officers is put your body cameras on."
This incident, according to Jacobson, appears to be a case of road rage on the part of Sgt. Kendall.
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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