New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Protest video goes viral
Police Chief Perno is seen in confrontation with protesters in front of his home
WEST HAVEN — A video of Police Chief Joseph Perno speaking and arguing with a group of protesters in front of his home circulated on social media over the weekend, as activists continue to raise concerns about actions of city police.
In the video, Perno urges the protesters to leave the street around his home, walking up to them repeatedly. In another video, seemingly of the same Feb. 23 incident, he challenges one of the protesters to a fight.
In a third video, the protesters announce their intent to circulate fliers regarding the case of Shengyl Rasim, who was shot and killed by her husband, Selami Ozdemir, in 2010, hours after Ozdemir posted bail following his arrest on a domestic
violence complaint; and to object to the 2018 promotion of an officer involved.
In that case, the city ultimately paid $3 million to settle a lawsuit that accused police officers and dispatchers of negligence and ethnic discrimination in their response to calls in the 2010 incident.
West Haven resident Kurt Erickson, one of the protesters, on Tuesday said, of Perno, “He needs to be arrested and taken out of office immediately . ... You don’t terrorize people like that.”
“In that situation, we were calm; we were reserved; we tried to de-escalate constantly,” Erickson said.
Perno declined to comment on the Feb. 23 incident.
Both Board of Police Commissioners Chairman Ray Collins III and Mayor Nancy Rossi said they support Perno and felt he acted appropriately that February day, given the fact that the protesters showed up at his house.
“They showed up at his house while they knew he was working, while his young teenaged daughter was home alone,” said Collins. “They terrified the daughter” and “there’s no reason for that,” he said. “You want to protest, you go to the Police Department.”
Erickson said he formed an organization, Citizens Opposed to Police States, along with two other men, with a goal to uphold civil rights and fight racial inequity in society, and has been involved in protests over the death of Mubarak Soulemane, killed by Connecticut State Police Trooper Brian North in West Haven following a pursuit from Norwalk.
After learning of the Rasim case, he said he went to Perno’s neighborhood Feb. 23 to alert neighbors of the 2018 promotion of now-Sgt. Christopher Stratton IV, describing the move as condoning racism and “unacceptable.”
Then-Officer Stratton was docked two days vacation time for his response to the Rasim-Ozdemir incident after an internal affairs investigation determined Stratton failed to appropriately search for Ozdemir after he left the house, before Ozdemir later returned.
Stratton also was charged with conduct unbecoming of an employee for saying “Ya, what’s she calling about now?” when being sent to Rasim’s home.
Stratton was promoted to sergeant in 2018. Perno, assistant chief at the time, performed the pinning ceremony.
Erickson said that when protesters visited Perno’s neighborhood, people were receptive and the group had not been improper in disseminating the fliers.
“We made a package of information and we went door to door to the people in that neighborhood where the chief lives. We never once stepped foot on his property,” said Erickson. “All of a sudden, he pulls up after 20 minutes of being there, and he starts chasing me around — and he’s got a gun on his hip.”
Erickson said he believed Perno should be fired from his position as police chief and charged with threatening him, saying he was concerned for his life. He called for federal oversight of the department.
Byron Bigelow, one of the other protesters and a member of the police accountability task force in Bridgeport, alleged Perno failed to live up to the standards of the profession.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. At the end of the day, we weren’t doing anything illegal — maybe ruffled a couple feathers, but it was all legal,” Bigelow said. “The right way to handle it was to sit on your porch . ... Where’s the crime? They’re making a crime.”
Collins and Rossi both said they found Perno’s response to be appropriate, given the situation.
“As far as I’m concerned, he was a father and a homeowner” at that point, and “what he did, I think any family man would have done to protect his property,” said Collins.
With regard to the protesters’ issues about the Rasim-Ozdemir case, Perno “wasn’t even chief at the time,” Collins said. “To accuse this chief of being racist is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
Rossi also had no problem with the way Perno handled things.
“I do think he was set up — there’s no question about it,” Rossi said. “I’m a parent, he’s a parent,” and as a parent, “I’m 24-7, he’s 24-7,” she said. “If I went to my house” to meet protesters, “the parent part is going to come out.”
The protesters have a right to protest, but when “a group comes and they’re screaming and banging ... I know that I would get upset about it,” Rossi said. She felt the protesters were “trying to do things to provoke” a response.
“Did they antagonize him?” Rossi asked. “Did I believe it was set up? Yeah.”
Erickson subsequently was issued an infraction for simple trespass as a result of the incident, police Sgt. Patrick Buturla confirmed.
Erickson denied that he trespassed on Perno’s property.
With regard to the 2010 homicide case, Stamford-based attorney Catherine Nietzel said at the time that the city settled to avoid exposure on the claim of negligence.
Activists have raised concerns about the department’s actions in recent months, including over the investigation into a woman allegedly driving through a crowd of protesters on July 5.
Erickson said his concerns about the department, as well as Perno’s actions in February, had fallen on deaf ears.