Police Union leader Michael Salemme is calling on Chief Roderick Porter to resign following a Wednesday vote of no confidence by local members at the Vasco da Gama Portuguese Club from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Union members have pushed back on how the chief implements overtime, assignments and promotions.
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 has been a strong community face in his more than two years as top cop running a department the chief says is about 100 short of required strength. As a result police overtime is up substantially to fill in the gaps while the city trains and hires new academy classes.
Porter has organized regular neighborhood meetings, an ongoing weekly Facebook live platform, serving as a visible presence across the city, removed tinted windows from police vehicles to build alliances with the public. 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, has been publicly supportive of the chief’s work. Porter’s approaching the halfway point of his five-year contract. The mayor has authority to appoint him to one more five-year term.
On the day of the vote, old guard union members of the Bridgeport Guardians fraternal organization that fights for the work-condition rights of officers visited the mayor’s office to express support of the chief’s work.
How will this play out? This isn’t new. Many chiefs have had scratchy relationships with the rank and file.
The mayor’s office will make entreaties to the chief to build stronger alliances with the union, but that’s probably as far as it will go in the short term.
Statement from Salemme:
A Vote of No Confidence took place today from 0700 hours to 1800 hours. 180 members came out to vote. 152 have no confidence in Chief Porter, while 27 do. One ballot was not properly marked and the ballot was disqualified. These numbers speak for themselves; I cannot recall ever seeing as many members take the time to come vote and, today, we saw more members come out to vote than what we see for union board and contract votes. It is not reasonable to expect every member to be able to vote, as there are factors such as child care, planned vacations, medical needs to consider, not to mention the inherent fear of retaliation.
The numbers don’t lie. As I previously mentioned, this isn’t about one or two members: officers of different genders, races and ethnicities, officers from different divisions and shifts participated. I’m proud of our membership for coming out and taking a stance against the hostile working conditions Chief Porter has created and while I am pleased with the outcome, I am most proud of the solidarity amongst our brother and sister officers. We are asking for Chief Porter to resign or the Mayor’s Office to immediately replace him.
When a Police Chief takes drastic retaliatory steps against the Civilian Janitor of the Bridgeport Police Department, how can anyone else feel safe?
What are the “hostile working conditions” that current officers (and one OIB reporter) note as reasons for the vote of NO CONFIDENCE?
In recent lists of Bridgeport’s highly paid employees, there seem to be many officers taking advantage of using their training, skills, and experience to fill gaps in the Police Department structure. Some attention has been paid to health and mental health needs of public safety officers. Are there other areas where PD employees are lacking confidence in leadership? Are they issues that can rightfully be brought before Labor Relations for resolution? Or are they only matters of specific personal upset, alternately brought slowly before CHRO or other governance mechanisms, that if identified, and proven, may cost the City taxpayer for a financial settlement and legal expense, perhaps?
Why have more than half of the current employees signed on to this vote? President Salemme notes that “different genders, races and ethnicities” as well as “officers from different divisions and shifts” participated. Does he have any statistics into how many of those same officers reside within, pay taxes to, and are registered to vote in Bridgeport? Another statistic that may help is the range of seniority represented. How many of those expressing ‘safety concerns’ were employed when three or more former PD leaders were in office? Looking for facts that may fuel feelings and indicate a more transparent view of what is present. Time will tell.
John Marshall Lee, The same labor Relations who set up the BOGUS National Chief of Police Search? The same Labor Relations that sat on their asses, while a years prior to the start of the search, Mayor Ganim, Mario Testo, Rep. McCarthy Vahey, and Governor Lamont, worked behind the scenes to accommodate a future Police Chief who needed to continue collecting his pension while serving as a full-time Police Chief?
“…and one OIB reporter”. Thanks for the compliment, Chief Disorder Porter, OIBulllshit Reporter.
Well, John I don’t see any “chainsaw” a waving, but I suspect it is fair to say, to Lennie’s point ” the Knock on Porter is being loathe to the department’s internal politics”
I am sure this is more about internal Port politics inside and outside of city hall. Though your attempt to pose the question regarding, residency or at least alludes to the assumption of racial boundaries when you quoted the union president; ” President Salemme notes that “different genders, races and ethnicities” as well as “officers from different divisions and shifts” participated.” and asked how many of them, police officers like within the Port who voted. Logically speaking.
[full disclosure: for those who are just joining OIB. The term “Logically Speaking” is coded language. It refer to black. It was coined by Lennie’s of OIB when he called the hiring of Porter by G2 to be the “logical choice” of over a Latino, Garcia, in the time of, and the back end of the black live matter movement and the racist behavior and institutional treatment of blacks in America it it police enforcement apparatus.
I say back end of the BLM movement because it had died down in era of the Biden presidency and sometime it became “illogical” to critique America’s enforcement apparatus. My guess that is racial identity politics and it sometimes (trump’s) the matter of a black life. Logically speaking, no?
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2023/01/28/tyre-nichols-video-beating-arrest-memphis-police-officers-contd-orig-bc-as.cnn ]
John, why are you deferring to the Labor Relations CHRO or other governance mechanisms. You have the power or at the very least a seat at the table to correct the mutiny within the BPD ship. CC has the power to set rules and regulations governing the operational apparatus of the Police force. No?
Are you not on the advisory commission? I don’t hope you make your findings and recommendations available OIB. You know for that transparency thing you got going on. 🙂
Outside of the logicalness of racial identity politics, clearly Overtime pay and promotion/assignment would be at the forefront of any/all employment environment, be it racial or not. However most employment/employees don’t get to vote out their boss, Good job democracy 🤣
Considering the top paid governmental Port employees each year are always within the police force, democracy can take the rutter, by passing regulation/laws to govern its democratic ship within the Port’s BPD by capping the overtime pay to 65k per employee. Which is perhaps probable more than average Port residents annual income , John.
Also set a quota to promoted police officers to higher position of supervisory roles that limits their overtime in the police apparatus. That will quite the mutiny of the rank and files
I mean, not to many officer will not bitch or give to shits about not being promoted to a supervisory position pay is the same as the rack and file.
Unspoken rule would be to make sure the total personal is limited to apply the needed overtime to the rack and file patrol officers and make sure every officer is offer overtime to cover /cover some of their insurance cost. (sidenote while health care should/needs to be universal, Which would perhaps be cheaper than new hires. as long as the standard of safety is not diminished.
How the F all Government employee don’t already have a base universal health coverage like Medicaid is beyond my logical understanding. Since the taxpayers are already on the hook that pays a private insurance, for a prophet. SMH
But what democracy wants to work in such a logical fashion. 🙂
Democracy don’t want logic. It wants to find/fight for that overtime pay/funding generated by taxpayers. That being said, fight nice people.
(side note please define the term logical fashion, and logic in my last statement on it face value. 🙂
That the problem with coded language, you never can tell, people, thank you. 😇
#logical.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnlIHaAkuTU
P.S John, got out. It’s trap,
Try to play nice Port Pols. Peace out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhGKSg1kT8U