City has no confidence in police union vote
BRIDGEPORT — Police union officials said they plan to meet to determine their next step following Wednesday’s no-confidence vote in Acting Chief Rebeca Garcia.
“Our executive board will meet to determine ways we can move forward from this vote,” said Union President Sgt Brad Seely. He said eventually union leadership plan to meet with the mayor’s office to deliver their concerns.
He did not specifically discuss the union’s initial demand after the vote was counted that Garcia be immediately replaced.
“We plan to meet with the mayor and the chief and we hope this vote sends a signal,” Seely said.
But city officials on Thursday were discounting the effect of the no-confidence vote, criticizing the number of officers they said voted.
The mayor’s office, in a statement released Thursday afternoon, said the vote “only represents 25 percent of the department, the other 75 percent voted in
favor, or elected not to participate.”
“It was hardly a vote of no confidence at all,” said Deputy City Attorney John Bohannon Jr. “The majority of officers chose not to vote and the vote among those who did was significantly split. It’s apparent the overwhelming majority of officers are satisfied with Chief Garcia’s leadership.”
Garcia did not respond to a request for an interview. However, in a statement on Thursday, she said, “As acting police chief, I will continue to work diligently on behalf of the officers of the department and our community. My dedication to move the department forward in the right direction, for the right reasons will not change.”
Neither Seely nor Union Spokesman Larry Dorman would release the vote numbers. Seely said he is not comfortable doing so but said the vote total is “significant.” He did say that 54 percent of those who did cast a ballot voted no confidence in Garcia.
Seely and Dorman stressed that their issues with Garcia’s administration are not solely labor issues. They said the department is losing a number of its officers to other police departments not only because of the high cost of benefits in the city but also because of what they said was a lack of support from the chief.
Specifically, the union no confidence resolution states that Garcia has exhibited “inequitable discipline of officers, ignoring some officers’ conduct that grossly violates department policy while swiftly disciplining others who have committed minor infractions.”
It also claims she has taken away “the authority of supervisors to make recommendations on discipline and the discretion to counsel officers;” “has been inequitable on the rotation of specialized units; and shows preferential treatment of officers who are perceived as loyal to her by awarding certain officer’s preferential assignments.”
The resolution also claims Garcia has ignored “the manpower shortage in the department that has had a drastic effect on the crime rate,” puts the public at a higher risk and creates serious officer safety concerns.
The Police Department has 358 officers and is budgeted for 426.