Police Chief Nominee Rejected By Stamford Board Of Reps

STAMFORD, CT — Rep. John R. Zelinsky Jr. said the decision by the Board of Representatives to reject Mayor David Martin's nominee for Stamford's next police chief, Chris Murtha, was the "most controversial issue" he had ever voted on. Murtha's nomination failed by a tally of 23-15 with one abstention.

"This decision for me tonight is not an easy one," Zelinsky said at the meeting, which was held Monday night. "There are good reasons to vote for Deputy Chief Murtha and good reasons not to. After all of the telephone calls, reading all the emails and all the backup material regarding Deputy Chief Murtha, my decision is, with all due respect to Deputy Chief Murtha, I will not vote to confirm him. I wish him the best of luck in his future and hope he becomes chief of police somewhere, but not in Stamford."

Many representatives said they had received a number of calls from residents, and even some Stamford Police officers, leading up to the vote, some in opposition and some in support of Murtha. The public filled the gallery and two overflow rooms to witness the outcome of the vote.

"Since I've been on this board, I have never seen a public outcry like this," Rep. Nina Sherwood said during the meeting. "I've never received more emails. I've never seen this room so full. I've never seen two overflows, except on this issue."

Controversial Choice

In June, Martin announced his nomination of Murtha, who currently serves as the Deputy Chief for Maryland's Prince George's County Police Department. Some representatives and members of the public took issue with the nomination due to Murtha's department being involved in a civil lawsuit, in which some Prince George's County officers alleged that four commanders showed racial bias in regards to promotions, work hours and other issues, according to the Stamford Advocate.

Murtha had been named in the suit among other commanders.The United States District Court of the District of Maryland eventually dismissed all claims against Murtha from the lawsuit on July 8.

Martin had cited Murtha's "credentialed resume, strong relations with community leaders and consistent professionalism throughout the hiring process" as reasons he was considered an ideal candidate to lead the department.

Martin had stressed that the search committee "very carefully vetted the claims made against Deputy Chief Murtha in the lawsuit before I submitted my nomination." Once the case was dismissed against Murtha, Martin said this "should put to rest these concerns and allow the Board to move forward to approve my nomination. Deputy Chief Murtha will prove to be a tremendous asset to our outstanding Police Department."

Martin Is 'Disappointed'

Arthur Augustyn, spokesperson for Martin, said in an email Tuesday the mayor is "disappointed with the vote" and will meet with the selection committee to discuss the city's next steps.

Assistant Chief Thomas Wuennemann was named interim Chief of the department on July 3.

Whoever city officials eventually select for the position will succeed Police Chief Jonathan Fontneau, a 38-year veteran who served as chief for seven years and announced his retirement in January.