POLI CHIEF FROM HELL

Complaint cites police chief's 'Reign of Terror'

By Juliemar Ortiz

New Haven Register
July 30, 2016

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- A Police Department employee has filed a harassment complaint against the city and Police Chief Dean Esserman, after the chief allegedly yelled at her last month, reducing her to tears.

The complaint was filed with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities Thursday by East Haven-based attorney Patricia A. Cofrancesco.

According to the document, administrative assistant Phyllis Verdoliva was working at her desk June 14 when she heard Esserman say he needed to speak with the city's budget director, Joe Clerkin. In the complaint, Verdoliva said she did not know to whom the chief was talking, as her head was buried in her work, and thought he was addressing another employee.

"I heard silence and looked up to see if possibly the temporary employee was looking for the number for Mr. Clerkin," Verdoliva said in the complaint.

When she looked up, she said Esserman "demanded" to know whether she "had a problem," and she asked him in disbelief whether he was talking to her and that she was busy working. According to the complaint, Verdoliva then asked Esserman whether he wanted her to reach Clerkin for him.

The chief then allegedly "bellowed at the top of his lungs, 'I said get me Joe Clerkin! Do you have a problem? Is there something wrong with you?'" the complaint states.

Verdoliva said she was "extremely" upset and crying. She called Clerkin and transferred him to Esserman's office, then, Verdoliva said, the temporary employee came over to ask her whether she was OK, while she was "crying and shaking," according to the complaint.

Verdoliva said Assistant Chief Luis Casanova took her to his office to try to calm her down after the incident. According to the complaint, there were other employees who heard Esserman screaming. Verdoliva said she remained at work that day solely to attend the Board of Police Commissioners meeting that evening, which she is obligated to attend as the board's clerk.

According to the complaint, Esserman asked to speak with Verdoliva two days later, but she said she wouldn't meet with him unless Assistant Chief Anthony Campbell was in attendance.

During the meeting, Verdoliva said she told Esserman "never to talk to me like that again."

The complaint states that Esserman then responded, "I don't know what you mean" and asked Verdoliva what she was talking about and, when she reminded him of the incident, he allegedly said, "Haven't we had a good relationship in the last 4 years?"

The document states that Verdoliva responded by saying "at times yes and at times no" and mentioned other times when Esserman allegedly "bullied" her.

After some more back and forth, she went to her desk and "broke out crying and shaking" and was advised to go home by two assistant chiefs. When the chief tried to talk to her again, she did not engage with him, according to the complaint.

"I was afraid of retaliation or his insinuation of subordination," Verdoliva said.

She claims she was discriminated against on the basis of her gender, and that when Esserman arrived at the department in 2011, "he immediately began his reign of terror," "regularly bullying" the complainant and "engaging in arrogant, condescending treatment" of Verdoliva and other women. The complaint states that the June 14 incident is part of the "pattern of bullying behavior" exhibited by Esserman and mentions examples of other female employees who have left the department, allegedly because of Esserman's behavior. Attached to the complaint is a list of 16 witnesses to the events.

Efforts to reach Esserman for comment Friday afternoon were unsuccessful. He is on a three-week paid leave of absence from the Police Department after he allegedly berated wait staff at Archie Moore's restaurant earlier this month. The leave, which started Tuesday, was made in agreement between the chief and Mayor Toni Harp.

Verdoliva has been employed with the Police Department for 18 years as an administrative assistant in the office of the chief, and for the past six years she also has been in charge of personnel at the department.

She formally requested a transfer on July 7, indicating that she was interested in working at the Board of Education, according to a request for transfer form obtained by the Register.

Cofrancesco said the request has yet to be granted and Verdoliva continues to work at the police chief's office in the meantime.

As for the city's role in the complaint, city spokesman Laurence Grotheer said, "The City's practice is to withhold comment on pending legal matters."

Esserman also is named in a state lawsuit that initially was filed as a CHRO complaint. A racial discrimination lawsuit filed by Capt. Patricia Helliger, the department's first black female police captain, this year alleges Esserman was involved in making condescending and angry remarks toward her. The complaint was released by CHRO on Feb. 29.

Cofrancesco also represents Helliger.

Additionally, a local judge earlier this month ruled a lawsuit filed by five officers alleging procedural misconduct by Esserman could move forward. One of the five plaintiffs is David Guliuzza, vice president of the police union. Cofrancesco also is representing those plaintiffs.

City police officers voted overwhelmingly on July 7 that they have "no confidence" in Esserman's leadership.

Guliuzza said after the vote that it is time for a change and cited an alleged hostile work environment, intimidation, retaliation and lack of leadership from Esserman.

Esserman has vowed to work with the union to resolve labor disputes and contract issues. He has also highlighted a reduction in crime over the last five years while he has served as chief.