New Haven Police Chief Esserman Ruled by 'Reign of Terror': Complaint

NEW HAVEN, CT—A longtime administrative assistant in the New Haven Police Department has filed a harassment complaint against Chief Dean Esserman in what is the latest allegation of angry behavior.

Esserman is currently serving a 15-day paid leave of absenceafter he reportedly berated at waitress at Archie Moore's restaurant in New Haven.

The complaint, filed by administrative assistant Phyllis Verdoliva alleges that Esserman berated her and reduced her to tears, according to the New Haven Register.

Esserman asked to speak with the city's budget director and Verdoliva at first didn't think Esserman was talking to her, according to the Register.

He then "bellowed at the top of his lungs," and asked if there was something wrong with her, according to the complaint. Verdoliva said Esserman began a "reign of terror" when he arrived at the department in 2011.

New Haven Independent Editor Paul Bass recently wrote an opinion piece that predicts Esserman will eventually leave the department, but the important question is how.

Bass writes:

Outside of a handful of politically connected ministers whom he feeds pizza at monthly get-togethers in his office, Esserman has no real pockets of support left in the community, either. And politically? The Board of Alders has given up on him.

Momentum has been building about Esserman's behavior in and out of the department. Mayor Toni Harp officially warned Esserman about his conduct back in 2014 when he yelled at an elderly usher at the Yale Bowl.

Esserman recently lost a police union no confidence vote by a margin of 170-42.