Happy New Year! Fireworks Continue Between Chief Porter And Police Union Leadership

Charges, counter charges. The explosive back and forth between Chief Roderick Porter and Police Union President Michael Salemme has not abated.

In March, Salemme called on Porter to resign following vote of no confidence by local union members at the Vasco da Gama Portuguese Club.

Union leadership has pushed back on how the chief implements overtime, assignments and promotions, charging favoritism is at play.

The vote against Porter, according to Salemme was 152 for no confidence while 27 backed the chief. Another 150 or so eligible to vote did not cast a ballot.

Porter fired back, in a letter provided by Salemme to city officials and state and federal investigators, charging union leadership with bribery and extortion.

Porter has been a strong community face in his more than three years as top cop. Statistics show violent crime is down under Porter’s leadership.

The knock on Porter is being loathe to the department’s internal politics. He’s regimented to doing the job without massaging bruised egos. Union leadership maintains he communicates with the community but not with us.

Mayor Joe Ganim, who appointed Porter after a national search, is publicly supportive of the chief’s work.

What follows is Salemme’s latest statement to the news media, followed by Porter’s March letter.

My name is Michael Salemme III and I am the Union President of the Bridgeport Police Department in Connecticut. Over the past few years, Chief Roderick Porter has retaliated against several officers, took care of his small circle of friends by giving them little to no discipline, put them in specialized units, and let them work unlimited overtime. The people he doesn’t like get heavy, unfair discipline and cannot work overtime. He has cut tons of supervisory positions and civilianized police positions, leaving very little career advancement.

Chief Porter continues to abuse his power, retaliate against individuals, and does not follow the contract, policy, or civil rights.  As a result of all this, approximately 20 CHRO complaints were filed against the chief. Ten lawsuits were filed federally against Chief Porter, with more coming. A vote of no confidence was conducted in March of this year, resulting in an all time high 152-27. The 152 not having confidence in Chief Porter. Chief Porter also falsified sworn affidavits 3 years ago which he was double dipping our pension. He was receiving his chief salary on top of collecting his monthly payment for his pension. On December 23rd, 2025, a judge ruled that Chief Porter must pay $143,000 back for “illegally” collecting his pension.

Mayor Ganim, city officials, Labor Relations, and Bridgeport City Attorneys office are all well aware of the chiefs malfeasance and abuse of authority in the police department. Zero action has been taken against the chief. Instead, they continue to make excuses for it, cover it up, support him, and turn their heads as more and more people come forward. There is plenty of documentation and meetings with all the mentioned entities.

I have attached a letter that Chief Porter wrote and signed to the Office of Labor Relations, Internal Affairs, States Attorneys Office, and the FBI. This letter is made up with zero substance. Chief Porter was trying to silence myself and the President of the Guardians, Carlos Pabon because the Union formed a vote of no confidence, along with us bringing unfair treatment public as well. The Bridgeport Guardians is a group of minority officers who formed to combat racial justice. The fact that they have openly gone against a black chief (Porter) for fair treatment, speaks volumes. We have not received any notice of this letter or have been interviewed by anyone. We were made known of the letter by an anonymous tip and it had to be FOI’d to receive a copy. We did not receive it until 12/19/25. Mayor Ganim would not meet with us. He set up a meeting with Dan Shamas (Chief of Staff) and David Reyes (Deputy Chief Administrative Officer). We demanded they place Chief Porter on immediate leave with an investigation being conducted by an outside entity. This was not met. They continue to support Chief Porter. Our names were slandered for no reason with these entities.

I have attached statements from us as well. We would like this letter to go out with our statements and a story backing us. We would like this to go nationwide because there are many other police departments in America facing the same kind of hostile work environments by their chiefs. See below link for a recent one in Connecticut.  Many officers are afraid to come forward due to retaliation. Chief Porter also had three of his friends put fake complaints in against me. Two of the complaints I have not received, despite asking several times and requesting through the MERA Act. This has been going on for roughly two years in our department. There are so many other stories published pertaining to Chief Porter and his malfeasance, which can be googled. I even went on Channel 12 news for an interview bringing these matters forward to the public. Officers are afraid to come to work. This has to stop!!

See other attachments Porter (2)