Gallo says list of complaints will be taken into consideration

08/25/2006

Mark Zaretsky , Register Staff

EAST HAVEN — The police union voted overwhelmingly Thursday to express no confidence in the leadership of Chief of Police Leonard Gallo and the Board of Police Commissioners. The union claims working conditions are unsafe, their relationship with Gallo and the board is adversarial, Gallo imposes "selective discipline" and morale "is at an all-time low."

Union President Detective Troy Raccuia wouldn’t release exact numbers, saying that some officers feared reprisals. But he said 82 percent of the union membership supported the no-confidence vote and "over 95 percent" of the members voted.

The union, which has been without a contract for 1½years and is in arbitration, has 47 members.

"This action is a direct result of the unacceptable and unsafe conditions that have existed at the East Haven Police Department over the past several years," Raccuia said

"Overall, the public is not well served when the chief, commissioner and union cannot agree on simple issues."

The no-confidence vote resulted both from poor and outdated equipment including unsafe, high-mileage police cars, none of which currently have working laptop computers in them, and disatisfaction with Gallo, who plays favorites, metes out "disparaging treatment" and has a habit of "bullying people," Raccuia said.

The vote "reinforces the union’s position that it’s not just a couple of malcontents," as Gallo has suggested, he said.

Gallo said after the vote,"I’m still going to come to work tomorrow and I’m still going to do my best. I will never use my power to retailiate. I will simply do my duty in a fair and equitable manner, without prejudice."

Gallo said the "real reason" for the vote is not public safety but contract negotiations "stalled on health insurance co-pay and terms of the future contract."

Board of Police Commissioners Chairman Pasquale "Pat" Romano, a retired state trooper, said, "The police department in East Haven is not an agency that’s run by popular vote. The chief of police has 38 years of experience. He doesn’t give in to every whim and every wish (and) as far as I’m concerned, I think we have a great police department and a great police chief." Gallo said he is in the proceess of buying a couple of new police cars. He acknowledged that the department has had trouble with its in-vehicle laptops.

Gallo said he would try to take the criticisms to heart and "take a closer look at things."

"I am always open to constructive criticism," he said.

The Board of Police Commissioners will hold a termination hearing Sept. 13 for Sgt. Paul Liquori, the union’s secretary. Raccuia has said Liquori had a spotless discipline record until he filed a grievance and a state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities complaint after being passed over for a promotion last year despite getting the top score on both verbal and written civil service tests.

One of the things Liquori is being disciplined for is for failing to report an alleged comment by a supervisor concerning the skin tone of one of the department’s few officers of color. The lieutenant who allegedly made the comment has since retired without being disciplined. Gallo said union leadership "is attempting to pressure me to ‘sweep (the incident) under the rug,’" which he said he won’t do.

Raccuia said the no-confidence vote was not a contract negotiation tactic, as Gallo suggested. He pointed out that the contract already is in arbitration and said the vote would have no effect on the arbitration panel.

Mark Zaretsky can be reached at mzaretsky@nhregister.com or 789-5722.