By Mark Zaretsky, Register Staff
08/23/2008
EAST HAVEN — Police Officer Bob Nappe was back in blue — Police Department blue — at 8 a.m. Friday, a little more than half a day after the Board of Police Commissioners reinstated him following a four-year battle.
“It’s nice to be back,” said Nappe, who spent the day in training, learning how to use new computer and booking systems that the department switched to during the time he had been fighting to get his job back. “It’s a different department, though. It’s a completely different department from what it was before I left.”
Nappe, a 19-year police veteran, retired in 2004 after the police board refused to grant him a one-year leave of absence to take a job training Iraqi police recruits for a private company on contract to the U.S. State Department.
He requested his job back when he returned and has been fighting to get back on the police force ever since.
Chief Leonard Gallo, who at one point opposed rehiring Nappe, “has been extremely nice,” Nappe said. “He’s been very receptive. He welcomed me with open arms.”
Nappe said he has additional training to go through, including firearms instruction, but hopes to be out on the street within a week.
Other officials, from Mayor April Capone Almon — who made rehiring Nappe a part of her campaign last year — to Gallo on down also said they felt it was time for East Haven to move on to others issues.
“He’s back to work. The board ordered him back to work,” said Gallo. “That’s it. Let’s move on.”
The mayor agreed.
“I am just looking forward to putting this behind us and moving on with the Police Department,” said Capone Almon. “I’m happy to put this behind us. I’m happy to get back to business as usual in the Police Department. ... We’re down two police officers. It takes over a year and over $50,000 to train one. We’re happy to be saving that money.”
The former police board and the town under Republican former Mayor Jospeh Maturo Jr. refused to rehire Nappe.
The new Board of Police Commissioners, which was taken over earlier this summer by appointees of Capone Almon, voted 3-2 to reinstate Nappe Thursday night.
Prior to that, the board’s attorney, following the directions of another 3-2 vote last week, filed all the necessary paperwork to withdraw the previous police board’s state Surpreme Court appeal of a Superior Court order to reinstate Nappe.
Attorney George Jepson also withdrew the previous board’s Superior Court lawsuit filed after Capone Almon tried to go around the board last spring and reinstate Nappe.
In all cases, the new three-member majority of commissioners appointed by Capone Almon — Vice Chairman Fred Brow, Joe Civitello and Frank Piergrossi — outvoted the board’s two Republican holdovers, Chairman Pasquale “Pat” Romano and Sandra Wright.
Nappe first went back to work on April 7, but had to give up his gun and badge two days later after the former police board hired its own outside attorney and obtained a court injunction.
Romano, who fought to keep Nappe out until recently, said several weeks ago that the battle was just about over and it was just a matter of time before he was rehired.
Mark Zaretsky can be reached at mzaretsky@nhregister.com or 789-5722.
İNew Haven Register 2008