New Haven Police Department

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New Haven Police Department
New Haven Police Department Patch
New Haven Police Department Patch
AbbreviationNHPD
Agency overview
FormedJuly 27, 1861; 160 years ago (1861-07-27)
Jurisdictional structure
Size20.1 sq mi (52.1 km2)
Population130,660 (2013)
Operational structure
Headquarters1 Union Ave. New Haven, CT
Police Officers358
Chief responsible
  • Otoniel Reyes
Facilities
Area Commands10 district substations
Detention Centers1
Website
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/police/
The police headquarters at 1 Union Avenue, designed by Douglas Orr (built 1973)

The New Haven Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of New Haven, Connecticut.

History[]

Founding and early years[]

The NHPD was formed with the signing of a bill on July 27, 1861. Its first elected Chief was Jonathan W. Pond.[1]

Various reprimands were made against officers in early years for offenses such as being absent from the beat, being drunk on the job, and assaulting a woman in jail.[1]

After the Civil War, James T. Mullen was a lieutenant in the NHPD.[2]

The Yale Police Department was created in 1894, when two NHPD officers volunteered to be assigned only to the Yale University campus.[3]

1960s[]

During what would become known as the "long, hot summer of 1967", riots broke out in New Haven following the death of a Puerto Rican man following his altercation with a white man. The NHPD and CT State Police made over 500 arrests in late August, mostly under the violation of curfew set by then Mayor Richard C. Lee.[4]

Black Panthers[]

In 1969, the NHPD raided the New Haven Black Panthers headquarters as part of a case stemming from the murder of Alex Rackley.[5] It was this case that turned into the New Haven Black Panther trials, when Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale was put on trial.

In 2006, Kelly Moye revealed that he was recruited by Nick Pastore for the NHPD Intelligence Division to infiltrate the Black Panthers in New Haven.[6]

1970s[]

The Department of Police Service headquarters, located on Union Avenue, was built in 1973. It was designed by Douglas Orr, deCossy, Winder and Associates in the brutalist style.[7]

In the mid-1970s, an FBI agent was tasked with going undercover in the New Haven mob world. He found that police, politicians, and mobsters were all working together.[8]

2010s[]

In August 2019, NHPD Captain Anthony Duff was shot and another killed in the same shooting[9]

2020s[]

On May 31, 2020, during a Black Lives Matter protest following the murder of George Floyd, protestors gathered at the NHPD, which was closed to the public due to the pandemic. The protest was peaceful for many hours, but at 6:30, protesters led by local activists attempted to force their way into the building. Police pepper sprayed the protesters in response. The same activists leading the protest at that time had spoken to Mayor Justin Elicker and protested outside his home two nights earlier, until 12:30am, without incident. Elicker came out at 9:30 pm to speak to activists and remaining protestors.[10][11][12]

Department[]

Civilian workforce[]

In addition to sworn officers, the department employs civilian employees for administrative functions funded partly by the Community Oriented Policing Services program.[13][14]

Emergency services[]

The Emergency services division of the New Haven Police Department is made up of several specialist teams.

Crisis negotiation[]

The team is trained to defuse hostage situations, talk to barricaded and/or suicidal persons, and alleviate a situation gone wrong without injury or the direct application of force.[15]

SCUBA TEAM / USRT[]

The New Haven Police Department also has a professional underwater search and recovery team which falls under the command of the N.H.P.D. Emergency Services Division. A New Haven Police Diver must be certified as an Advanced Open Water Diver. The team has a 40 foot Metal Craft Firestorm boat and a Zodiac for smaller waterways. The team is responsible for the recovery and preservation of any person(s) and/or contraband, body recovery, and weapon recovery located in waterways throughout New Haven County.

The N.H.P.D. Dive Team consists of fourteen active members. Team responsibilities include:

  1. Perform dive recovery and search tasks
  2. Line tending
  3. Underwater communications with divers
  4. Act as O.I.C. of dive operations
  5. Report findings of operations and analysis of remedies
  6. Maintain Emergency Services fitness level
  7. Maintain equipment

Underwater Search & Recovery Team members (USRT) are also Certified Dive Rescue Level I and II SCUBA Divers. All team members must qualify once a year by performing swim fitness testing, underwater testing, dive competency testing, and a physical fitness test as well. The New Haven USRT also trains twice per month throughout the year.

The USRT is also attached to Region II in Connecticut and is responsible for HAZMAT DECON of all public safety personnel in Region II. NHPD USRT members are certified through the Department of Homeland Security (Anniston Alabama) as HAZMAT Techs in this field.

SWAT team[]

The New Haven Police Department has a SWAT team. Their SWAT team includes snipers that were involved in a gun fight on 24 September 2011.[16]

Narcotics unit[]

The department's narcotics unit was disbanded in 2007 after two officers were arrested and two others implicated in a corruption sting.[17] The unit was replaced by a VICE/Narcotics unit in 2009, and that unit played a crucial role in the investigation of the murder of college student Annie Le.[17][18]

Cases of police brutality[]

The NHPD has been accused or found to have committed acts of brutality various times.


In 2012, one officer pled guilty on a charge of racial profiling in a 2009 case in which a man said officers broke his collarbone.[19]

In December 2017, a man was tasered for not producing identification quickly enough.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Costello, Augustine E. (1892). History of the police department of New Haven from the period of the old watch in colonial days to the present time. Historical and biographical. Police protection past and present; The city's mercantile resources. New Haven. hdl:2027/ucw.ark:/13960/t5z60tf4m.
  2. ^ "Ninth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers : : Soldiers Stories Sgt James T. Mullen". www.jimlarkin.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  3. ^ "History of the YPD | It's Your Yale". your.yale.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  4. ^ O’Leary, Mary; Stannard, Ed; Abdul-Karim, Shahid (2017-08-12). "1967 riots: 4 tense days that began 'evolution' of blacks". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  5. ^ "Black Panther Torture "Trial" Tape Surfaces | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  6. ^ "After 37 Years, Spy Comes In From Cold | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. 2006-08-04. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  7. ^ Hopkins, Jonathan (30 May 2016). "How Police Stations Became Fortresses". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  8. ^ Hoffman, Chris. "The History of the Mafia in Connecticut". Connecticut Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  9. ^ "New Haven PD Captain Shot: Chief Puts All Cops On The Case". New Haven, CT Patch. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  10. ^ Lambert, Ben (2020-06-03). "Hamden official pepper-sprayed during New Haven protest says police defense of it is 'garbage'". CTInsider.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  11. ^ Friedmann, Meghan; Dignan, Clare; O’Leary, Mary (2020-05-31). "In New Haven, tensions rise in protest confrontation at police HQ". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  12. ^ Breen, Thomas (2020-05-30). "Late Night Protest Floods Mayor's Lawn". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  13. ^ Cavanaugh, Jack (December 21, 1997). "Public Safety: Walking a Beat Returns to Stamford". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  14. ^ Kaempffer, William (March 19, 2009). "Departments can apply for funds to hire officers". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  15. ^ http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Police/Divisions/EmergencyServices.asp
  16. ^ http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/09/28/news/doc4e83344fac3cc887707646.txt
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "Redemption for the NHPD?". Yale Daily News. September 30, 2009. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  18. ^ Sataline, Suzanne (2009-09-18). "Lab Technician Is Charged in Yale Grad Student's Killing". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "Police Brutality in New Haven, Connecticut". Award Winning Connecticut DUI, Criminal Defense, Civil Rights & Litigation Attorneys : Ruane Attorneys. 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-08.

External links[]

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