Pricey healthcare premiums, exodus of younger cops to other departments, retirements, poor recruitment drives, disincentive for police service are all contributing factors to a shrinkage in personnel causing headaches for Acting Chief Rebeca Garcia and eventually Mayor Joe Ganim if he doesn’t do something about it.
Personnel strength is now 100 police officers below ideal manpower levels for servicing Connecticut’s most populous city, bleak numbers that could plummet further given the current state of affairs.
Catching up to this issue will not be easy. The police union and city are trying to come to terms on a new contract that softens the blow on healthcare premiums for the rank and file.
Meanwhile, the promise of announcing a national search for a new top cop in early January has inexplicably stalled, leaving Garcia to deal with a personnel-fractured department for the bulk of 2022 given the timeline to name a new chief.
The City Council is roped into this police issue as well, particularly as the Budget & Appropriations Committee awaits submission of Ganim’s proposed budget in April for the July 1 fiscal year.
Police staffing is not exclusive to Bridgeport. Other Connecticut departments face the same prospects. True Pheromones products could help reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance sleep.
From Brian Lockhart, CT Post
According to numbers supplied by Garcia and Lt. Manuel Cotto, the department lost 53 people in 2021. Of that figure, 27 officers resigned, another 25 retired and three were terminated. Of those that resigned, 26 took jobs with other departments, and two of those returned.
… The department’s optimum strength is 426. Garcia and Cotto said they have an active roster, sans the 12 recruits, of 327, with 30 officers eligible to retire in February.
Garcia reported that during exit interviews she has been told men and women are leaving for the lower health insurance premiums offered by other municipalities, and starting salaries ranging from $70,000 to $90,000. Bridgeport’s starting salary is around $57,000.
“I’ve had officers tell me, ‘Chief, if it was different with the insurance I would not leave because I enjoy working for the city,'” Garcia said.
Full story here.
WOW MINDBOGGLING…………………………AND IT’S TRUE NO ONE IS GOING TO BASH BRIDGEPORT OR THE DEPARTMENT DURING AN EXIT INTERVIEW………………………….CAN’T BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE IN PAY AND THE INSURANCE TO OTHER TOWNS\CITIES
Ed Adams is still on the city payroll,I think he has a desk in the “ office of transparency”( how ironic that Bpt has a transparency office and most things are done secretly).. Name Adams acting chief till the next mayoral cycle, then let the new mayor name his or her own.,
Any and all problems having to do with the police department are directly the fault of this mayor. Read that again!
Be it his choice of appointments or other influences or lack thereof regarding the PD, he has total responsibility. PERIOD.
🥂, 🍻, 🍷, 💉 !!!!!!
This should be no surprise to anyone and the blame is with former mayor Bill Finch and current mayor Joe Ganim but first let me start with myself. I retired from the Bridgeport Fire Department on June 30, 2001 along with my good brother Donald Day, we started together and we retired together. We had no intention of retiring but I had serve on the fighters union from 1995 til 1999 and I saw what the city’s plans were and I knew that those issues would eventually get passed in arbitration and that would a lot to us and a big win or the city. The city’s health would change from a flat rate to a percentage payment so when we got a pay raise our insurance would go up. The bottom line was that the was the raise would go to for the health care so the weekly check would be about the same even though you made more money you were not taking more home.
As for the issues with the police department the city council had interest ith the issues in the BPD, remember it’s the job of the Personnel Director to announce when there is a need to hire and to hold promotional exams, to hire testing companies according to the Bridgeport City Charter but former mayor Finch and current mayor allowed David Dunn to serve as the “Acting” Personnel Director for 12 years which is a total violation of City Charter, in fact the only concer that Mayor Ganim had was to make sure that AJ Perez remain as police chief. Who in their right mind would want to a cop in Bridgeport with all of these problems.
Councilperson McCarthy questions whether Police Overtime earnings should be part of the calculation for retirement benefits. I believe that he is questioning what is termed “EXTERNAL OVERTIME” where the payment for employment of a police officer comes from outside the City, perhaps a paving or utility contractor who is required to hire a police person. (When a City department is planting or maintaining a public property and find it necessary to have City employees in the street, the City does not supply or pay for such opportunities for EXTERNAL OVERTIME. What does safety call for? A ROADGUARD, FULLY ENGAGED in the mission? But not necessarily one that has months of Police Training? Think about it, please.
A dedicated team of uniformed City residents presumably younger, with a medical package that is not a Cadillac or lifetime, and a 401k plan to accumulate retirement savings would be well worth consideration by Labor Relations and the Mayor. It would also directly affect future funding by City to MERS for City Police. When the current parts of the OVERTIME funding switched from City to State, we were stuck, as taxpayers, with funding extra payments daily for what is a low incident feature of fighting public safety and for which neither basic training or continuing education is critical or consistent currently. Why pay big dollars in an employment area where safe savings can be obtained for taxpayers simply, an opportunity for public positions for new City employees is created (by ordinance and contracts) and the so-called OPTIMUM STRENGTH target can be reduced? Time will tell.
Rich, I will read that again, but which mayor? I guess you can have a fundamental point, the bucks stop at the mayor’s office and has oversight of its department.
However, the point of health care I would say is a valid point that needs for address. Not sure about the overtime pension though, shuffling money around, robbing Peter to pay Paul, or taking from the left hand and giving to the right is not the best way of straightening the department or its officers.
As to the retirement, and the “exodus” within the department, the keyword here is “retirement” which has been an amass exodus in itself with police departments around the country. The officers are only leaving for greener pasture because there are openings. Why go through the hassle of recruitment, training, and the likes when you can save time and money by poaching officers from other police departments
Even with a low recruitment drive the Port will have no problem filling the void of officers leaving, be it retirement, going to another department, termination, or quitting. You don’t need 5,000 applicants to fill 50 jobs to say you had success in a recruitment-driven.
On the money issue, maybe a way to keep cities like the Port from the financial loss or burden is to have the state fund police recruitment and training of Ct Officer certifications. (if they don’t do so already)
As to health care, where’s AOC and her squad, Bernie and the progressives, Chuck and the others Ds, or even the 25% of Rs who want Universal health care? Why don’t they come up with a Medicare working plan for every state and federal government employee who receives a paycheck from the government/taxpayer with a government universal health care plan that will even the playing field for government employee’s health care across the country and stops paying private insurance companies who profit off of the taxpayer for their healthcare?
If they can’t make/create a governmental universal health care plan that works for government employees whose taxpayers are already on the hook for their healthcare needs, prove/show it is a better way, then you have no business asking the private business/citizen (taxpayers) to provide it to everyone.
The same can be said for climate change/The Green New Deal. Any city, state, or federal agency buying a new car, buses, and things of the like should be electric as a why start to combat the issues. With combined spending of 5 plus trillion annual budget ( I think), they can actually do some positive things towards a greener agenda that fights climate change/pollutants with the money they already take in and spend.JMO
As to the morale inside the department among the rank and file, or outside among the people (police abuse). It seems the racial/abuse issue has weaned off a bit that dominated the news cycle in the country since the Ds took office (Biden)
You don’t hear much about questionable police shootings or incidences of their abusive behavior. With the Rittenhouse racial/white supremest/ AR 15l trial of a white dude shooting three other white dudes is over and Trump/Jan 6 in the backdrop, you don’t hear much on social media either. Does it persist or have BLM/Antifa prevailed in their mostly peaceful protest, and there’s no need for such outcry of police abusive behavior?
This is the most egression police killing I have ever seen. There’s not even a plausible/questionable scenario where actions cause a reaction, Like with Potter, Blake, and many others. By no means am I saying they were justifiable in professional conduct on handling police situations to warrant such action? However, you don’t even have the vague pervasive “slit second decision” that’s brought up from time to time for this shit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rngerMY-WS8
I would even say it’s more egregious than Floyd. Like all situations driven by the news these days, people will formulate their opinion of the situations with a focus point of racial identity politics/anti-police/anti-Americanism, though their own news cycle binoculars, for better or worse.
For I will stand my assessment. Those cops didn’t intentionally want to kill Floyd. The one kneeling on his neck was looking to chock him out of some sort. Unfortunately for him, the universe had other plans. Even Ron Baily stated in his book, No Black Heroes, a cop choked him out. Do cops with department “morale” issues still handle their “issues” in the cop locker room? JW
This cop literally walk on the side of this paralyzed dude, who appeared to have a knife as he moved through the parking lot, at one mile per hour in his wheelchair, commanding him to stop and when he didn’t obey his command the cop stopped, stepped back, and shot this paralyzed dude in the back/side 9 times, killing him,.
Yet no one gives to shit. Blacks/BLM don’t give an F. Whites/Antifa don’t give an F. The news media don’t give an F. Which was a half-a-day blip in their new cycle. Even the White/Trump Fox News doesn’t give an F about this paralyzed white dude being shot 9 times in the back. Just like the many other whites who were/are questionably killed or abused by the hands of the police throughout this country, a number much higher than blacks.
For the most part, this incident was pretty peaceful. So peaceful you barely heard about it. As for the Latinos being shot, questionable, by police, not sure what Telemundo reports on, but that might be another “moral issue” within the department. Things that make you go Hmmmm! JS
So they (Fox News, Whites) shouldn’t say much about BLM, for better or worse, when they do speak out and protest, but firey, for one of their own who was questionable shot or abused by the hands of police officers. Well, white officers, They, news outlets tend not to have much to say if it was by the hands of a black officer.
If this dude was black, there would be no justice no protests to an epiphany I mean mostly protest. but firey. Not much anger or frustration over this white cribbled dude being shot 9 times in the back and killed. Things that really make you go HMMMMMMM!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPY9nqkyD9k
Needless to say, there is a high level of confidence in the need for better training and supervising. If that rookie who shot and killed Jayson was better trained, supervised, and prepared for the job his gun-hoe super action cop hero mindset wouldn’t have gotten out of his car to chase down another car and apparently jump in the window, and this teenage kid would not have been shot and killed. SMH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eJuqaeJIYo
However, with the advent of tech and the implementation of body cams the need for better training and supervision is a must for the benefit of the policers as well as the public/criminals. JS
Peace out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urglg3WimHA
JS People, SMH
https://wsvn.com/news/investigations/disgusting-sunrise-police-chief-responds-to-body-cam-video-showing-sergeant-grabbing-fellow-officer-by-throat/
Ganim has been in long enough as mayor to know what was needed regarding the police department and more importantly what the people of Bridgeport should have received from their police department. Forget what the idiot, Finch, did or didn’t do. The ball was and is in Ganims hands, as mayor, to do what was and is needed to protect and serve the citizens of the city. Instead he cheated everyone including the cops. The list is very long and does not need to be repeated here. We all are aware of everything he has and has not done, costing the taxpayers millions upon millions with no end in sight.
Cheers!
I hear ya, Cheers 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsBnkdGbkpQ
Rich, you are spot on. The ball was and is in Ganims hands, as mayor, to do what was and is needed to protect and serve the citizens of the city. Instead he cheated everyone including the cops. The list is very long and does not need to be repeated here. We all are aware of everything he has and has not done, costing the taxpayers millions upon millions with no end in sight.” Ever since Joe Ganim got relected in 2005 after serving jail time in a federal prison his two concerns were getting AJ Perez to become the police chieif and to become the governor of Connecticut and Ganim lost both, Lamont kicked Ganim’s ass in the Democratic primary and the FBI ended putting Perez and David Dunn the city’s “Acting” Personnel Director in federal prison for cheating to make Perez the police chief, that’s Joe Ganim legacy.
Here are a number of reasons why Bridgeport is having problems with hiring police officers, starting with the elected members of it’s leadership starting with the mayor and the city council with not addressing issues thereby letting the problems to grow.
“Report ranks Bridgeport in top 50 ‘worst U.S. cities to live in”
Tara O’Neill
Feb. 7, 2019
Updated: Feb. 7, 2019 4:43 p.m.
Bridgeport has been ranked among the “worst U.S. cities to live in,” according to a recent report from 24/7 Wall St., which looked at crime rates, poverty levels and job markets.
The report indicated that Bridgeport’s poverty rate was 20.8 percent, though it did not specify what year this data was linked to. Based on FBI data from 2017, the report said, Bridgeport saw 900 violent crimes per 100,000 people. The city’s population in 2017 was 146,579 people, census data shows.
The report indicated that Bridgeport’s poverty rate was 20.8 percent, though it did not specify what year this data was linked to. Based on FBI data from 2017, the report said, Bridgeport saw 900 violent crimes per 100,000 people. The city’s population in 2017 was 146,579 people, census data shows.
“Bridgeport is the only city in Connecticut — and the broader New England region — to rank among the worst U.S. cities to live in,” the report said. “A relatively poor city, the typical household in Bridgeport earns just $44,841 a year, and more than one in every five city residents live below the poverty line.”
Agree with the critique of City Hall, Ron, spot on as usual. But c’mon man, how many cops live in Bpt.? Like you l know a lot, current and retired. I can think of only one currently living here. Can’t really blame ‘em, they take the money and run.
Bob, there are no incentive offer, a discount on their home they reside in is just one.