Is Time Running out for Esserman?
Monday, February 07, 2011
Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman is on the outs with Mayor Angel Taveras after an incident over the weekend. Is the “best police chief in America” about to be unemployed?
Last Friday, Esserman got into a verbal altercation with a subordinate officer in Bristol.
Sources tell GoLocalProv that the altercation started after Providence Police Sgt. David Marchant coughed during remarks Esserman was making at an event at Roger Williams University. The event marked the completion of a two-week course on the justice system that Marchant and nine other officers had taken at the school.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs a result of the incident, Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare has suspended Esserman for one day—the suspension is in effect today.
Esserman has issued a statement apologizing for the incident.
“The behavior that prompted my one-day suspension was regrettable," Esserman said. “I offer a sincere apology to the officer affected by my actions. I recognize that creating a culture of respect within the force starts at the top and I will use this experience as an opportunity to reaffirm my commitment to that important principle.”
The ‘best police chief in America’
Officially, Mayor Angel Taveras’ office says the suspension is the only disciplinary action that will be taken.
But the suspension—coming barely more than a day after Pare was confirmed by the City Council—fueled new speculation about what Esserman’s future holds under the new administration.
Esserman was one of the first appointments that former Mayor David Cicilline made after taking office in 2003. Cicilline has praised Esserman as the “best police chief in America” saying he hired him “to be a leader, to bring professionalism and national attention, and to restore integrity in the department.” Esserman has also won accolades for his approach to policing by Monitor Talent, a national speakers bureau that features leaders with “provocative ideas and expertise about the future of business, science, and society.”
No confidence vote by union
Since taking over as chief, however, he’s had a poor relationship with the police union. In 2009, the union held a vote of no confidence in Esserman’s leadership, with 69 percent of the membership voting against the chief. Esserman has also come under fire by the Rhode Island NAACP for a lack of diversity in hiring. And he caught flak last year after four Providence police officers were nabbed in Operation Deception, a drug investigation.
During the campaign for Providence Mayor last year, two candidates—Democrat John Lombardi and independent Jonathan Scott—said firing Esserman would be one of their first acts if elected.
Taveras said he would hold off—instead appointing a Public Safety Commissioner who would conduct a top-to-bottom review of the department before making any personnel decisions. As a result, all eyes have been on his appointee for the position, former State Police Col. Steven Pare (pictured above right), for any clues as to how he would deal with Esserman.
Rough week for Esserman
Pare had been serving as the acting commissioner until last Thursday, when the City Council confirmed him in his position. The incident at Roger Williams University happened the next day—followed in short order by the suspension.
It marked the end of a rough week for Esserman. Earlier in the week, City Hall announced that he would be taking a "voluntary" $18,000 cut in annual retirement benefits, after a councilman publicly called for a reduction in his pay.
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