Peers say mayor’s chief pick ‘real deal’
STAMFORD — Chris Murtha, the police executive tapped by Mayor David Martin to become Stamford’s next chief, draws high praise from a search consultant who helped select him and from his colleagues in Maryland.
Charlotte Lansinger, who has been an executive search specialist for three decades and helped place more than 100 police chiefs in U.S. cities, counties and other entities, said Murtha “is a stand-up guy.”
Martin hired Lansinger’s nonprofit group, the Police Executive Research Forum, in January to look nationwide for a replacement for Chief Jon Fontneau, who retired last month.
“If I had multiple Chris Murthas, I could make a lot of cities happy,” said Lansinger, who worked with the seven community volunteers Martin named to a search committee. “He’s an all-star candidate who comes in with the right experience, background and approach of a chief who can be successful in Stamford.”
The Police Executive Research Forum identifies qualified candidates, helps the
“If I had multiple Chris Murthas, I could make a lot of cities happy.”
Charlotte Lansinger, of the Police Executive Research Forum
search committees interview and decide finalists, and conducts reference and background checks and internet searches, Lansinger said.
The mayor’s pick, which
must be approved by the Board of Representatives, has raised questions. Murtha is deputy chief of the Prince George’s County Police Department, which is the subject of a civil suit filed by two black and Latino police organizations and 15 officers who allege that they are unjustly disci
plined, demoted, denied promotions and desirable assignments, and retaliated against when they report wrongdoing.
Murtha is among the police executives named in the suit, which also brought to light an allegation that he falsified time sheets for a fellow officer, though a letter from the Maryland state prosecutor shows that the charge was investigated and found to be without merit.
The Prince George’s County Police Department, where Murtha has worked for 20 years, also is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for possible discrimination against officers of color.
The time sheet incident “was based on an anonymous allegation that was totally cleared through a state investigation,” Lansinger said. “We discussed it with the committee.”
As for the civil suit, Murtha “was not specifically targeted for his own actions. In fact, there is a request by the county to take his name out of the lawsuit because they say he is not directly involved,” Lansinger said. “We looked into that and made sure the search committee was briefed about it.”
Count confidential
Martin’s office has refused to disclose the vote count among members of the search committee, which included Tim Abbazia, chairman of the Stamford Police Commission; Director of Public Safety Ted Jankowski; Director of Administration Mike Handler; former Board of Representatives President Randy Skigen; former Stamford NAACP President Jack Bryant; Catalina Horak, executive director of Building One Community, which works with immigrants; and Constance Hubbard, a resident and human resources professional.
Asked about it Monday, Martin’s spokesman, Arthur Augustyn, emailed a statement:
“All successful executive searches rely on confidentiality to ensure the most qualified candidates will apply, and members of the committee feel they can openly discuss the qualifications of all candidates. Every member of the advisory committee contributed to the process that ultimately resulted in the recommendation and support of Chief Murtha.”
‘Real deal’
It’s an excellent choice, said Jennifer Donelan, director of media relations for the Prince George’s County Police Department.
“Deputy Chief Murtha is a dad. They rescue dogs. He has a wicked sense of humor. He’s passionate about the community and the people who work for him,” Donelan said. “He’s smart and he has street sense and he cares — you can’t ask for anything else in a police leader. I think it’s a rarity when you come across someone like him. He’s the real deal.”
Murtha told the Stamford Advocate last week that he believes the Prince George’s County Police Department, which has more than 1,600 officers and serves 1 million people, will be fully exonerated. Donelan said Monday she looks forward to the department’s day in court.
“There is a lot the public needs to know, but unfortunately we are not able to discuss the allegations now,” she said.
Before she took the job with the department she was a TV news reporter covering it, said Donelan, who is African-American.
“The department looks like the United Nations. There are several AfricanAmerican women in positions of power. There is an African-American deputy chief, a Latino deputy chief, an African-American inspector general,” Donelan
said. “These are things I did not experience in the private sector.”
‘Crucial’ player
Prince George’s County Chief Henry Stawinski said Monday the department is “a rapidly evolving police institution.” In the last decade, crime in the county, which borders Washington, D.C., has been reduced by two-thirds, Stawinski said.
“We used to have more than 100 crimes every day. Now it’s 35,” Stawinski said.
Murtha helped him establish the strategy that is lowering crime, he said. It includes winning the community’s trust, and creating the Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative, which employs multiple county agencies to address health, educational and economic challenges along with those faced by law enforcement, Stawinski said.
“It was the whole government looking at the things that led to crime,” he said. “We also set up a databased approach to crime prevention. We get reports at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily, so we can move resources where they are needed in real time. We document everything because we make difficult decisions, and we want to substantiate them with facts. And we constantly come in on budget. We make sure we know how much things cost.”
Murtha has been crucial to the effort, Stawinski said.
“I made him Operations Commander. I invented the position for him,” the chief said. “I am very proud of him. Stamford will benefit greatly from his leadership.”