The NHPD was formed with the signing of a bill on July 27, 1861. Its first elected Chief was Jonathan W. Pond. Various reprimands were made against officers in early years for offenses such as being absent from the beat, being drunk on the job, and assaulting a woman in jail. After the Civil War, James T. Mullen was a lieutenant in the NHPD. The Yale Police Department was created in 1894, when two NHPD officers volunteered to be assigned only to the Yale University campus.
1960s
During what would become known as the "long, hot summer of 1967", riots broke out in New Haven following the death of a Puerto Rican man following his altercation with a white man. The NHPD and CT State Police made over 500 arrests in late August, mostly under the violation of curfew set by then Mayor Richard C. Lee.
In 1969, the NHPD raided the New Haven Black Panthers headquarters as part of a case stemming from the murder of Alex Rackley. It was this case that turned into the New Haven Black Panther trials, when Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale was put on trial. In 2006, Kelly Moye revealed that he was recruited by Nick Pastore for the NHPD Intelligence Division to infiltrate the Black Panthers in New Haven.
1970s
In the mid-1970s, an FBI agent was tasked with going undercover in the New Haven mob world. He found that police, politicians, and mobsters were all working together.
2010s
In August 2019, NHPD Captain Anthony Duff was shot and another killed in the same shooting
2020s
On May 31, 2020, during a Black Lives Matter protest following the killing of George Floyd, protestors gathered at the NHPD. While demanding the New Haven mayor Justin Elicker come out of the police station in order to speak to the protestors upon issues of policing, the protesters were pepper sprayed at around 6:30 pm. Elicker came out at 9:30 pm to speak to protestors.
Department
Civilian workforce
In addition to sworn officers, the department employs civilian employees for administrative functions funded partly by the Community Oriented Policing Services program.
Emergency services
The Emergency services division of the New Haven Police Department is made up of several specialist teams.
Crisis negotiation
The team is trained to defuse hostage situations, talk to barricaded and/or suicidal persons, and alleviate a situation gone wrong without injury or the direct application of force.
SCUBA TEAM / USRT
The New Haven Police Department also has a professional underwater search and recovery team which falls under the command of the N.H.P.D. Emergency Services Division. A New Haven Police Diver must be certified as an Advanced Open Water Diver. The team has a 40 foot Metal Craft Firestorm boat and a Zodiac for smaller waterways. The team is responsible for the recovery and preservation of any person and/or contraband, body recovery, and weapon recovery located in waterways throughout New Haven County. The N.H.P.D. Dive Team consists of fourteen active members. Team responsibilities include:
Perform dive recovery and search tasks
Line tending
Underwater communications with divers
Act as O.I.C. of dive operations
Report findings of operations and analysis of remedies
Maintain Emergency Services fitness level
Maintain equipment
Underwater Search & Recovery Team members are also Certified Dive Rescue Level I and II SCUBA Divers. All team members must qualify once a year by performing swim fitness testing, underwater testing, dive competency testing, and a physical fitness test as well. The New Haven USRT also trains twice per month throughout the year. The USRT is also attached to Region II in Connecticut and is responsible for HAZMAT DECON of all public safety personnel in Region II. NHPD USRT members are certified through the Department of Homeland Security as HAZMAT Techs in this field.
The New Haven Police Department has a SWAT team. Their SWAT team includes snipers that were involved in a gun fight on 24 September 2011.
Narcotics unit
The department's narcotics unit was disbanded in 2007 after two officers were arrested and two others implicated in a corruption sting. The unit was replaced by a VICE/Narcotics unit in 2009, and that unit played a crucial role in the investigation of the murder of college student Annie Le.
Cases of police brutality
The NHPD has been accused or found to have committed acts of brutality various times. In 1997, Malik Jones was shot by police following a car chase. This case led to the continuation of discussions on a creating civilian review board. In 2012, one officer pled guilty on a charge of racial profiling in a 2009 case in which a man said officers broke his collarbone. In December 2017, a man was tasered for not producing identification quickly enough.
