Several sources in the Hartford Police Department and at Hartford City Hall are confirming that Mayor Segarra has picked, and made a job offer to, who he hopes will be the next leader of the Hartford Police Department. The choice will have many of you asking James "WHO?".
Segarra has apparently made an offer for the "interim" Chief of Police position to veteran Hartford Police Officer and current Chief Inspector of the Chief State's Attorney's Office James Rovella. Talks have been in the works and according to sources, the offer was made to Rovella after a lengthy meeting this morning at City Hall. The "interim" title is apparently a matter of semantics as the final details and contract are worked out.
Rovella was chosen to run the Hartford Shooting Task Force earlier this year after it was created at the direction of Governor Malloy under the guidance of Connecticut's Chief States Attorney's Kevin Kane. Rovella and his task force have produced some very noticeable results and has impressed many with the ongoing efforts of his team.
Rovella retired from the Hartford Police Department after building a reputation as an outstanding investigator and then moved on to eventually the Chief Inspector in the State's Attorneys Office.
Rovella also has a very strong working knowledge of the Hartford Police Department and its "players", which should prove interesting as the transition from the Roberts administration begins. Rovella apparently is known as a no nonsense supervisor with a strong work ethic and commitment to professionalism. One source told me that it is common to see Rovella in his office at 7:00am when others are arriving and still be there at 7:00 or 8:00PM at night after others have left.
Rovella also was raised in Hartford from what I am told and has a keen interest in the City.
This wasn't the Segarra choice I would have predicted, but it seems like it could be a win-win situation for the HPD as well as the people of Hartford with the right support for Rovella. This potentially could also be a huge morale booster for HPD, a department that has been racked lately by labor battles and lawsuits and what has been perceived by many as vindictive management by HPD Command Staff.
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18 comments:
moral booster lol, it will end up the opposite this is a joke like most of the shooting team
anonymous @ 10:01pm,
are you a member of the current Command staff?
Doesnt make sense ?? Leave a State Job where he is making probably 100 K a year plus Hartford PD pension? To be interim chief of Hartford ?
(Already flunked the Psychological Exam)
This is a little more interesting news:
HARTFORD—
"The city council will consider and possibly vote on a resolution tonight to give city Treasurer Adam Cloud a raise, bringing his annual salary to $150,000."
One problem, the state Constitution prohibits a raise until 2015
"The compensation of an elected official of a political subdivision of the state whose term of office is four years or more may be increased once after such official has completed two years of his term by the legislative body of such political subdivision"
Anonymous 1:15PM,
Not everything is always about the money, I could almost guaruntee you that there are reired officers that have pride in HPD that know what tyhe department once was and what it ccan be once again with the right leadership that would do the job for almost nothing except the satisfaction of making a difference. DKR had the opportunity to make a difference except he made terrible management decisions, especially those he surrounded himself with.
Some people actually want to end their day knowing they made a difference rather than knowing how much their bank account grew.
"Grandslam"??? Continuing to bring in guys with ties to HPD hasn't worked out yet and nobody seems to smell the BS, or like always, everyone is turning up their noses to it[sic]. I admit Jimmy is a good investigator but he still has ties to people in HPD, and as discussed in many previous articles and blog responses, what is needed is a total overhaul of the second floor command staff. Even on an "interim" basis replacing the last dope with anyone with ties to HPD can be detrimental. So instead of rushing to give Pedro kudos for this possible selection on the guise of it being an instant morale builder, let's dig a little deeper and find out what he was promised to make this move. A real coo would be to hire someone with actual "Chief" experience, preferably from a city comparable in size or larger with similar issues as Hartford (oh! and with a proven track record of success). Let's just review the last five years and lest not forget the recent Rudewicz debacle. A FRESH, NEW outlook is what's needed. Come on Kev. I gave at least u more credit than that. Don't start lettin' us down now. Respectfully...
Nicely said Kevin.
Be careful anonymous at 1001pm. You have / had it pretty good.
Jim Rovella would be the best thing that could ever happen for the city and HPD. Grandslam is right Kevin. He's the only one who's started to get things back on track. Bye bye DKR!
I am prepared to give Mr Rovella a chance to see what he does but the problems of Hartford's crime situation are fundamental and structural, in which exchanging chairs on the deck will not make a difference unless the change that Mr Rovella brings is fundamental.Right now the general feeling is that the citizens aren't safe...and they aren't safe.
We are down about 75 cops and it boggles my mind why Mayor Segarra would be cutting the cops budget at a time when we need more cops.In addition the CSO's add a neighborhood dimension that will be lost if Segarra pushes through the disappearance of them.
We also are nearing 30 murders in Hartford without a clue to stop them.Prayer vigils will not stop the murders,Reverand Brown...my suggestion is that you and your group start demonstrating at City Hall where they can do something substantive,like increase the police budget,redirect troop deployment or involve the stste in a new co-partnership task force to make Hartford a safe city, instead of these impotent prayer vigils.
Bring in the National Guard, sweep all the neighborhoods for guns, drugs and criminals. Lock them down like its Iraq for a few months until all the drug money goes away.
James Rovella would bring great changes to HPD. The morale is the worst seen in nearly ten years .... DKR has created such a terrible work environment that the troops have just adjusted and think its normal like abused children or battered wives. The men want to work for someone who is fair, but also a cop at heart. Someone who actually did something on the street, therefore knows what will work and not work. Besides being a chief has more to do with just speaking well on the news , but also about connections, and ability to provide for the city ..... Oh and he does have chief experience he's a chief now just to educate the non educated out there. .....
I'm willing to bet if a poll was conducted, the Chiefs of actual police departments would have a difference of opinion on whether or not Mr.Rovella is a chief or not. These are two totally different entities of law enforcement. He's obviously great at what he does, but his "Chief" position is very different, Mr. Education.
You're right, I bet if you polled those Chief's they would not choose Rovella, they have to protect their own interests ya know, PERF credentials, their self-serving selection process ect...
I guess Rovella doesn't have PERF training like Rob Ford, he never co-authored a neighborhood police plan like Roberts, he never covered up the facts of an Intelligence police shooting, he never went Nazi with the I-Files, he never let Bernier do whatever and run ramped, he never treated people unequally or unfairly to get to a chief's position, he never sat in an office for ten years afraid to make a decision. Anyone currently wearing a star on the 2nd floor could never do in four months what Rovella did. Most of them have had that chance and failed previously.
But guess who would choose Chief Rovella? Nobody important, just the people with authority over all those "Police Chief's of actual police departments". Maybe you are familiar with the Connecticut State's Attorney’s Office, the people in charge of the police chief's- The police chief's bosses. Kevin Kane, Gail Hardy, the governor, the mayor ect... They know what an actual police chief should be. They picked Rovella. Somebody must think pretty highly of him. I think they have some idea what they are doing. They don’t see "Just a detective"
Anybody. I mean anybody is better then what we have. I just hope the new chief is fair and sees through all the ass kissers who will be running up to the chiefs complex the first day with a tray of big y cookies .... Others will continue to stare in the mirror at themselves and the scar on their face ...
A very long toliet flush is needed at police headquarters. Clean out the good ol boys and start promoting based on merit and experience instead of electrical side jobs and being your neigbor. Table dancing is still allowed. .. But only on christmas .....And st patys day ..
Go easy Zweebie, maybe we should promote based on tongue rings and IA complaints... It's all good.
Here's the deal. I served 21 years at HPD and I saw 9 chiefs come and go. Why? Politics, plain and simple. Oh there were other factors - a distinct change in the Chiefs personality and attitude soon after gaining job. Hostile factions and cliques in the Department, etc.
In my opinion, the demands on the Chief at HPD from 1) City Hall 2) the citizens and 3) the cops - are insurmountable. There should be a buffer here - maybe a "McMillan" style Police Commissioner to hold City Hall at bay and deal directly with the citizens, freeing the Chief to do Police Work.
That said - Jim Rovella would be the best choice I know for Chief. He is everything a Chief needs to be and would do an excellent and professional job, just as he has always done since the day he began at HPD. I have nothing but respect for the competency and skills of James Rovella.
Bruce C
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