Statement from Police Chief Roderick Porter:
My disciplinary decisions and assignments are fair and impartial.
In my three years as Chief I’ve handled roughly sixty discipline cases, some that were left over from the prior chief. Of the roughly sixty cases, I would say ten were appealed to the labor board. The others were settled with the officers and union agreeing to the disciplinary action.
The specialized assignments, the union participates in the selection process. All of the decisions are based on a fair process that allows all officers the opportunity to be selected.
Crime is at historically low levels in the city, we have regrown the overall department numbers rebounding from significant drops, people are feeling safer in the city, an example of which is the growing population and businesses.
We are implementing and using the most advanced technologies to improve how we respond to calls for service. To improve public safety.
I welcome the opportunity to work with the union, to continue the growth of the department.
No news here. It’s the Union’s job to haggle with and squeeze management as hard as possible in order to maintain leverage and bargaining power — even to the point of outrageous accusations of malfeasance and untoward treatment of officers. And it’s management’s job to minimize the Union’s leverage and bargaining power and maintain the upper hand in running the PD. Nothing much going on here that won’t be settled quietly at the bargaining table… We have a good Chief and a good PD. A public safety equilibrium will be maintained as long as the money/OT hold out…
Bridgeport Police Thief Roderick Porter is the byproduct of “Favoritism”. Eleven (11) months before the City of Bridgeport started the national search for Chief of Police. Mayor Joe Ganim clandestingly lobbied Legislators to amend a small portion of Connecticut General Statute covering Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement System (CMERS) regulations. State law prohibited retired city Employees to return to work full-time and continue collecting their pension.
Joe Ganim was able to convince the Governor to sign-off on language allowing ONLY a head of the Police Department to work full-time, post-retirement while continuing to collect his pension. To add a little security, Labor Relations and Porter sealed the favor with a contract. A state judge has ruled that Porter must pay $146,000 he collected in violation of the law.
With a debt of $146,000 plus interest, the Police Chief is now susceptible to corruption.