New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Elicker taps Jacobson as new police chief
NEW HAVEN — Mayor Justin Elicker introduced Assistant Chief of Police Karl R. Jacobson Monday as his nominee to be the city’s next police chief, calling him “a proven and principled public safety leader who is eminently qualified to serve as the next chief of police of the New Haven Police Department.”
Jacobson “and I share a similar vision for the New Haven Police Department” — one which “utilizes community-based policing, one of deep respect and partnership with the community, and one of a holistic approach to public safety that moves beyond a policing-only paradigm,” Elicker said.
“Karl Jacobson is the right person for the job,” he said, following what he described as “a robust national
search and community engagement” process. “I am grateful for his willingness to serve and I am proud to submit Karl Jacobson for approval to the New Haven Board of Alders. to serve as the next permanent chief of police of the New Haven Police Department.”
Jacobson “embodies all that is right about community-based policing,” Elicker said.
Elicker and Jacobson were joined in the City Hall atrium by Chief Administrative Officer Regina Rush-Kittle, a former state trooper who has served as acting chief since the retirement of former Acting Interim Chief Renee Dominguez earlier this month. She will remain in the position until the Board of Alders, which must approve the nomination, votes.
Also joining them were West Hills Alder Honda Smith, D-30, who supports Jacobson, and Jacobson’s daughter, Kelli Jacobson.
“I am deeply honored to be nominated by Mayor Elicker to serve as the next chief of police for the New Haven Police Department,” said Jacobson, who served as a police officer in the East Providence Police Department in Rhode Island prior to coming to work in New Haven in 2007.
“I love the City of New Haven, I love our residents and I love our police officers, and I am committed to doing everything I can to keep our residents, officers, streets and community safe,” Jacobson said. “New Haven is a great place to live, work and raise a family, and working together we are going to keep it that way and build an even safer city, and a city with deep police-community bonds than ever before.”
Asked how he might change the department, Jacobson said that “there’s little things that we can do today. Every single officer has a phone” and “every single officer should have a business card and be reachable on that phone to the people in the area they police.
Jacobson, who lives in the city’s Westville section, said he knew May 16 homicide victim Anthony Strother and lived three blocks away from he was shot. The key to successful policing is, “You have to show that you genuinely care” to develop trust. “That’s what I learned as assistant chief.”
Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, who did not attend the announcement, said “the nomination will follow the normal process and be reviewed by the Aldermanic Affairs Committee, then move on to the full Board of Alders. “I look forward to the opportunity to hear more from the nominee on the direction of the Police Department, including the plan to diversify the upper ranks,” Walker-Myers said.
Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow, D-27 — who at the Dec. 6 vote at which Dominguez was rejected said, “We need assistant chiefs that look like us” — could not immediately be reached for comment.
In choosing his assistant chiefs, “I’m going to look for people who have strengths” that are different from his own, Jacobson said.
He said of what happened with Dominguez, “We have to move on.” With regard to the diversity of the city, “People are people to me,” Jacobson said. “I’m going to appeal to the Board of Alders to look at my record.”
Jacobson said he would “do everything to keep this community safe ... I’m excited and I’m worried ... but I’m ready for the challenge.”
Smith said she came out Monday “because I believe in him. I’m here because I’ve seen actions” and “I know he can make this force” better and more in touch with the community, although she said, “I’m one of 30” on the board.
Jacobson currently oversees Patrol Operations, the Detective Division, SWAT, Emergency Services and School Resource Officers. He has risen through the ranks since arriving in 2007 from police officer to sergeant to lieutenant to assistant chief of the Detective Division and now a dual role overseeing both the detectives and patrol.
He received a Bachelor of Science in sociology and justice studies from Rhode Island College and a Master of Science in criminal justice from University of New Haven. He has received a number of local, state and national awards, including the U.S. Attorney’s Director’s Award in 2018, the “Top Cop Award” from the National Association of Police Organizations in 2018 and the ATF Director’s Award in 2017, among others.
Dominguez, previously an assistant chief, retired earlier this month, five months after the Board of Alders rejected her nomination. Elicker had nominated Dominguez last year to assume the job permanently, but the nomination fell through after the Board of Alders voted her down for the role in December.
Dominguez subsequently withdrew her name for the job.
“After much soul-searching and deliberation, I have decided not to re-submit a second time,” Dominguez said at the time.. “I am disappointed. I am disappointed that I don’t get to lead this department as the permanent chief . ...
I’m disappointed that the alders felt that I didn’t answer questions, or I didn’t have what was needed to lead this department in this city.”
The last chief to hold the permanent posting was Chief Otoniel Reyes, who left the department in spring 2021 for a job as head of public safety at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.
“We looked far and wide for our next police chief,” said RushKittle. “Our recruiter received many applications, we interviewed several excellent candidates from across the country and one person clearly rose to the top, and that was Karl Jacobson.
“We appreciate all the input and engagement from city residents and stakeholders in the search process and we look forward to continuing to have an open and honest dialogue with the community to keep our city and residents safe,” she said.
Kelli Jacobson, 18, who is studying Criminal Justice at University of New Haven — and hopes to become a police officer and perhaps eventually join the FBI — said she’s proud of her father and “I’m very excited for him.”