Schools
Former New Haven PD Chief Esserman Hired by Quinnipiac University
The former New Haven police chief has taken a job with the school.
HAMDEN, CT—Former New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman has taken a job with Quinnipiac University.
Esserman joined the school Mondayas a senior professional in-residence for emergency management response, according to NBC Connecticut.
Esserman will examine the university's emergency response plans.
Find out what's happening in Hamdenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
He is a full-time employee of the university, according to the New Haven Register. His salary hasn't been disclosed.
Esserman resigned from the New Haven Police Department on Sept. 2 in a mutual decision between himself and Mayor Toni Harp. So far the details of his severance agreement haven't been made public. His term was set to expire Feb. 1, 2018 and his salary was $162,000 with the New Haven Police.
Find out what's happening in Hamdenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Esserman was put on a 15-work day paid leave starting July 26 following an alleged incident at Archie Moore’s in the city where he reportedly berated a waitress. He then began to use accrued sick time after the paid leave expired.
It wasn’t the first or last story to surface about Esserman’s behavior. He was officially reprimanded in 2014 after it was learned that he yelled at an usher during a Yale football game.
The Independent and WTNH reported about Esserman losing his cool after a Secret Service agent couldn’t provide him with exact details about his place in First Lady Michelle Obama’s motorcade when she visited the city.
New Haven Police were able to reduce the number of homicides from a high point of 34 in 2011 down to 13 in 2014 and 15 in 2015. Non-fatal shootings dropped from 133 in 2011 to 63 in 2015 and shots fired from 426 to 91 for the same time period.
Esserman was lauded by city officials for his leadership, so much so mayoral candidates in the 2013 election universally agreed they would keep him on their administration. Esserman also received national attention for his community policing efforts and had a closed door meeting with President Barack Obama and several other prominent law enforcement officials shortly before his leave.
Image via City of New Haven
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