From Brian Lockhart, CT Post:
The Rev. Carl McCluster admitted that, four years ago, Roderick Porter would not have been his first pick when the mayor put the retired captain in charge of the police department.
But at a rally Saturday, McCluster told a downtown crowd that, among the people who have led the department over the past three decades, “We’ve never had a finer chief.”
McCluster, pastor of South End-based Shiloh Baptist Church, was among about 60 people who gathered outside the Government Center at 999 Broad St. to support Porter. The group included faith leaders, elected officials, activists and retired police officers. A much smaller march from police headquarters preceded the rally.
Organized by Harold Dimbo, a former Bridgeport detective, and the Rev. Mary McBride-Lee, a North End councilwoman, the event countered months of attacks on Porter from some officers and police union leaders, who want him fired or to quit over allegations of a hostile work environment.
…The top cop did not attend Saturday’s event, and earlier this week said he had nothing to do with staging the rally. He recently claimed the continued attacks on him are backlash from some in the ranks who previously enjoyed “entitlement and privilege.”
Full story here
John Marshall Lee says:
October 3, 2026 at 12:37 pm
Just returned from the actual commentaries by a variety of well known citizens from the region as well as Bridgeport community, some specifically political as elected by their constituents, others religious including a Bridgeport Islamic Center Community leader who praised Chief Porter’s record with their large community, and others retired from the police force who were able to focus on historic times when neither criminal activity were in a significant decrease, nor public presence to all neighborhoods in the community were represented actively and regularly by a police chief who answered questions in person.
As an American, son of an immigrant from United Kingdom without a secondary education, as an elder in Bridgeport after 40 years of residence, I see opportunity for all in the community when justice, equity, and the rule of law are practiced.
It is why the creation of yourbridgeportvote.com is so important to know about and support. Time will tell.
I posted this yesterday after returning from the Morton Center gathering. It was my journalistic impression as a resident, taxpayer, who has opinions about the “common good” withint Bridgeport. I am also a current elected vice president of the NAACP, but in this case I am speaking personally. Many citizens in the city are frustrated, disgusted, or upset when authorities in power do not listen to them or organize avenues that welcome them to advocate, ask questions, participate, and learn about municipal governance. Chief Porter has been one of the few who appears in a variety of neighborhoods without tv reporters or communications experts to promote an idea on social media. That human honesty gets through in a way that some do not understand. The Bill of Rights provides space to gather and share by freedom of expression, either support or grievance content. Where there are issues that defy attempts at the table to provide satisfaction to all, the courts are available, as certain police officers have found.
Let’s see whether the officers facing a contest for union representation are in favor of an alternative or whether they are satisfied with current leadership. It is their right as well to organize on issues important to them. Perhaps the Bridgeport Police Commission will wish to record their wisdom with the public after the local mid-terms and the union election. Time will tell.