City names Vitale new 911 director

NEW HAVEN — Mayor Justin Elicker named Joseph F. Vitale Jr., a 30-year veteran of the Yale University Police Department, to be the new director of public safety communications, a monthand-a-half after naming his predecessor, Kevin Stratton, to the position.

As director of public safety communications, Vitale will oversee all aspects of New Haven’s Emergency 9-1-1 Call Center, also known as the city’s Public

Safety Answering Point, or PSAP. PSAP receives all 911 calls and dispatches the appropriate emergency response services, including police, fire and ambulance responses.

“New Haveners’ 9-1-1 calls must be received and responded to in a professional, effective, and efficient manner — and, as a former EMT, I know firsthand that when there is a medical, fire or public safety emergency, every second counts,” Elicker said in a release.

“Joe Vitale brings to the job an impressive mix of public safety and emergency response experience, deep knowledge of the New Haven community and longstanding relationships with the New Haven Police Department and other local, state, and federal partners,” he said. “It’s a critically important job and I’m thankful that Joe Vitale is willing to take on the assignment to serve and lead the city’s 9-1-1 telecommunications center.”

Vitale most recently served as the captain of operations for the Yale University Police Department, working his way up the ranks from officer to senior leadership over the years, from 1990 to 2019.

As captain of operations, Vitale’s responsibilities included command of the Uniformed Patrol Division, a unit consisting of approximately 70 uniformed patrol officers. In that capacity, Vitale supervised the Communications Division and police dispatchers, the bicycle and motorcycle units, the emergency services unit, SWAT and hazardous devices-bomb squad, among other responsibilities.

For more than a decade, Vitale served as the YPD’s Communications Center supervisor, supervising police dispatchers, operating the Yale Police Department Emergency Operations Center and maintaining operations of the Yale University desk within the City of New Haven’s Emergency Operations Center.

“I am honored to serve as the City of New Haven’s Director of Public Safety Communications and to work with Mayor Elicker and alongside the city’s first responders to ensure that when residents call 9-1-1, they get the emergency response and help they need when they need it,” Vitale said in the release.

Vitale’s first day on the job will be Monday.

Vitale