By Josh LaBella
New Haven Register, Conn.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The city’s police chief abruptly resigned from the department Monday after being confronted over allegations he stole from a city fund used to pay confidential informants, according to the city’s mayor.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced Police Chief Karl Jacobson’s departure in a press release sent out on Monday evening. Elicker said Assistant Police Chief David Zannelli will be appointed acting police chief.
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Elicker called the news a “betrayal of public trust” and “a challenging episode in our city’s history” at a press conference at police headquarters on Union Avenue about an hour after the initial release. Elicker said he learned earlier on Monday that Jacobson admitted to stealing money from the city fund.
Elicker said several officers flagged inconsistencies with that fund to the three assistant police chiefs, who confronted Jacobson Monday morning at which point he admitted to stealing the money for personal use. He said he planned to place Jacobson on leave pending the investigation, but the departing chief submitted his retirement paperwork before he could meet with him.
Elicker said officials do not know how much money Jacobson took or over what period of time, adding it will be part of the investigation. Although Zannelli said the assistant chiefs had met with Jacobson Monday morning, Elicker did not disclose when officers first noticed discrepancies in the confidential informant fund.
Jacobson could not be reached for comment Monday night.
Repeatedly during Monday evening’s press event, Elicker emphasized the unexpected nature of Monday’s events. He said, while mentioning details of Zannelli’s tenure with the police department beginning in 2008, that he was sure Zannelli didn’t wake up expecting to be acting chief of the city that morning.
“To say this news is a shock is an understatement,” he said. However, Elicker said it should demonstrate to residents that city police take accountability seriously and that everyone is treated the same under the law in New Haven.
Zannelli said it was “an incredibly challenging day for us,” and the department would quickly begin the work of informing the command structure of the change in administration right after the Monday press event.
There has been no information so far indicating other people are involved with the theft, Elicker said. The New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office and Connecticut State Police are in talks to determine what agency would be best to lead the investigation into Jacobson’s alleged crimes, he said.
If found guilty of a crime against the city, Jacobson could lose his pension, Elicker said, adding it was too early to speculate on that. He noted that Jacobson’s employment contract was set to end later this month.
Elicker said Zannelli will serve as acting chief until he determines the selection process for the next chief. He called him a strong leader with integrity, later noting that, when he found out about the theft, he and his fellow assistant chiefs acted.
The city will be looking into and auditing accounts like the confidential informant fund to find areas with potential for abuse, Elicker said.
Monday’s evening press announcement of the chief’s resignation came about four hours after a planned press event to discuss the events of a fatal crash in Westville this past weekend was abruptly canceled around 2 p.m. The investigation into that crash has since been turned over to state police; Elicker said state troopers spotted outside the police chief’s office around the time of that canceled press event was unrelated to any investigations into Jacobson’s alleged mishandling of police resources.
Marshall Segar, counsel for the city’s police union, said union officials felt “disappointed” by the events.
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