http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-chief3nov04,0,4240342.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
By Eve Sullivan
Staff Writer
November 4, 2004
STAMFORD -- Two former police chiefs from Massachusetts and a female deputy chief in Bridgeport are finalists for chief of the Stamford police.
Mayor Dannel Malloy made the announcement yesterday after weeks of interviewing candidates to succeed Chief Louis DeCarlo.
"I believe that any one of these eminently qualified individuals would make a fine successor," Malloy said. "I also believe that it is now important to seek the input of the community in our final decision-making process."
He will introduce the finalists to community leaders in a few weeks and hopes to make a recommendation to the Board of Representatives by the end of the month, Malloy said.
Until a successor is named, Assistant Chief Frank Lagan will be acting chief. Lagan takes over at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Tomorrow is DeCarlo's last day.
One finalist is Arthur Kelly III, a consultant and contractor with the National Threat Assessment Center, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and former chief of the New Bedford Police Department in Massachusetts.
The other finalists are Brent Larrabee, former police chief of the Framingham, Mass., Police Department, and Karen Krasicky, deputy chief of the Bridgeport Police Department.
If Krasicky is named police chief, she would be the first woman to hold the position in the department's history.
Asked how the mostly male police force might handle taking orders from a woman, Malloy said, "It's 2004. I would presume we are prepared to treat everyone based on their talents."
Three women hold rank in the Stamford Police Department -- Capt. Susan Bretthauer, Lt. Beth Erickson and Sgt. Theresa Vitti. Bretthauer is the first woman to become captain.
The three finalists were chosen from among 49 applicants, the mayor said. Of those, 28 were deemed qualified, he said.
A screening panel of DeCarlo, Director of Public Safety William Callion and Director of Human Resources Dennis Murphy selected 11 candidates for a panel interview. The mayor then interviewed nine of the candidates and chose the three finalists.
Each candidate will visit the city and may meet with members of elected and appointed boards, community and religious groups and the Stamford Police Association.
Malloy said that is an unusual step and the first time it has been done in Stamford.
"I would be very interested in receiving the input of a broad range of individuals in our community in this appointment," Malloy said.
According to his resume, Kelly was a Hartford police officer in the 1970s who became a sergeant, then commander. He left Hartford in 1981 to become the police chief of Sanford, Maine.
During his four years in Maine, Kelly reorganized the department and adopted the community policing model. After that, he spent more than six years as commissioner of public safety in North Adams, Mass., where he also reorganized the police department and introduced community policing.
From 1991 to 1994, Kelly was police chief in Saint Joseph, Mo., continuing his work in community policing. He then served as superintendent of police in Peoria, Ill., and police chief in New Bedford.
Since September 2003, Kelly has been a consultant for the government. He has a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Hartford.
According to Larrabee's resume, he has spent his entire policing career in the Framingham Police Department, climbing the ranks from officer to police chief of the city with a population of 71,000.
As chief, Larrabee developed a community policing initiative, including an emphasis on youth, schools, domestic abuse and narcotics abuse. He also supervised a $6.8 million reconstruction of the police facility.
Larrabee has a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University in Boston and a master's degree in public administration from Framingham State College. He has done consulting work for several police departments in the Northeast.
Krasicky has served her entire 25-year career in the Bridgeport Police Department. She is the first female deputy chief in the history of the Bridgeport department and the first in Connecticut.
Krasicky has been recognized by the state Department of Children and Families and two newspapers for providing training in dealing with domestic violence. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of New Haven.
"All three of these people could do the job and would be very good at it," Malloy said.
DeCarlo, 61, is a 33-year veteran who has been chief for three years. He is leaving with one year left on his four-year contract.
Sources say Lagan, Assistant Chief Richard Priolo, Capt. Richard Conklin and Capt. Thomas Wuennemann were interviewed.
Malloy would not say whom he interviewed in the department.
"We had a great field of candidates to choose from," Malloy said. "The candidates within the department were a great group, but we had to whittle the choices down."
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