Stamford Mayor Temporarily Withdraws Nominee For Police Chief

STAMFORD, CT — The Board of Representatives was set to vote on Mayor David Martin's choice for Stamford's next police chief during their meeting Monday night but when they received news Martin was temporarily withdrawing his nominee.

About 40 minutes into the meeting, Representative Annie Summerville told the Board she had just received a message informing her Martin was withdrawing the appointment of Chris Murtha at this time, however he will resubmit it for the next board meeting.

"I just received a message," Summerville said during the meeting. "I've been notified that Mayor Martin is withdrawing the appointment of Chief Murtha at this time but will resubmit it for the next board meeting that is before us in August, and that's all the information I have."

Summerville is the chair of the Appointments Committee, which is responsible for interviewing and determining qualifications of candidates referred by the Mayor for appointment to city boards, authorities and commissions, according to the city website.

Many members of the public who had attended the meeting to hear the outcome of the vote began to clear the room once the announcement was made, forcing the Board to take a five-minute recess.

Martin, who recently underwent knee surgery, was not present at the meeting. His decision comes less than a week after the committee voted to recommend the Board reject his choice for police chief during their meeting Tuesday, according to the Stamford Advocate.

A statement from the Mayor's Office emailed to Patch said Murtha's name was withdrawn so the Board could have time to do more fact finding.

"Based on a few comments made by the community during the public participation section, we felt that we should allow the Board to do their due diligence to further understand and ascertain the actual details that will support Deputy Chief Murtha's approval," the statement reads. "We remain confident that the Board will discover that he is an excellent and highly qualified candidate, however we as a community and the Board should avoid unfairly damaging the reputation of an outstanding public servant, one who has put his life at risk for the public and has been a valuable asset to his community and his department."

Murtha, 53, currently serves as the Deputy Chief for Maryland's Prince George's County Police Department. Some residents spoke against the nomination during a public comments section of the meeting prior to the announcement.

According to the Stamford Advocate, many have taken issue with the nomination due to Murtha's department being involved in a civil lawsuit, in which some Prince George's County officers allege that four commanders showed racial bias in regards to promotions, work hours and other issues. The suit names Murtha among other commanders.

A statement released by the Mayor's Office in June said the Police Chief Committee, the Police Executive Research Forum and Martin were aware of the lawsuit when Murtha was considered as a candidate, however they concluded the allegations made in the lawsuit, specifically in relation to Murtha, had no merit after "careful consideration and discussions with community leaders in Prince George's County."

"Mayor David Martin takes allegations of discrimination very seriously, but was reassured by the immense number of community leaders in Prince George's County and colleagues within the department who affirmed Chief Murtha's integrity, character and accountability," the statement reads.

That statement also said Murtha's former supervisors and colleagues, as well as numerous community leaders, praised his conduct.

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

If chosen, Murtha will succeed Police Chief Jonathan Fontneau, a 38-year veteran who served as chief for seven years and announced his retirement in January. Fontneau, the city's 15th police chief, received the Distinguished Chief Award in 2015 from the Police Commissioners Association of Connecticut.