Police Department swears in sergeants, bolsters supervisors

Saturday, November 1, 2008 6:15 AM EDT
By William Kaempffer
Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Six new sergeants were sworn in Friday as the Police Department continues to bolster its supervisory ranks.

Officers Vernon Barham, Joe Murphy III and Dean Reynolds and detectives Samuel Brown, Robert Criscuolo and James Grasso Jr. all received their stripes and new badges pinned on by family members or friends.

“I really take great pride in a couple things I do. One is when we hire new people and seeing young people start their career, but even more is when I get to promote good people,” said police Chief James Lewis.

The department had been doing it with some regularity over the last year as it worked to replenish its supervisory ranks after years without regular promotions.

In July, Lewis promoted 22 other people to detective, sergeant and lieutenant and, in January, the department promoted 21 new lieutenants and captains.

In the sergeant rank alone, about two thirds of the department’s 50 sergeants have been promoted over the last two years off the current civil service exam, which expired Friday.

In what has emerged as a new tradition at the department, the people being promoted got to pick who presented their new badges.

Grasso’s father, a retired New Haven detective, pinned on his son’s.

State Police Sgt. Blake Stine presented Criscuolo, who worked under Stine in the Statewide Narcotics Task Force.

Ten-year-old Justin Brown did his father’s.

“When we got in the car and he picked me up, he said, ‘You’re going to put the badge on,’” said Justin, adding he was honored but a little scared.

“It’s something he’ll never forget, helping his father get pinned on the day of his promotion,” Brown said.

Most if not all of the new sergeants are expected to be assigned to the patrol division, although no transfers were issued as of Friday.

“If you talk to anybody who has been in the business for 38 years like I have and you ask them what is the best job you’ve had, I’ve never had anybody say it wasn’t being a field supervisor, a first-line supervisor,” Lewis said.

They get involved in the action and excitement, he joked, and get to walk away and not do the paper work.