Danbury Mayor: Seasoned Police Hires Will Give the City ‘A Leg Up’

The Danbury Police Department recently hired 9 new police officers.

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"New" probably isn't the right way to describe them, they are "lateral transfers" meaning they were police officers elsewhere. The hires are not just getting attention here in the Hat City, but also in the Big City. According to the NY Post, 6 of the 9 officers are former NYPD officers who are leaving a department where "morale is horrible."

The December 11, 2022 New York Post article talks about systemic problems in the NYPD and points out how officers could easily benefit by leaving to take jobs in smaller cities and towns. I don't want to sound insensitive but the "morale" in NYC, is the city's problem. Danbury has it's own issues and could stand to benefit from officers who have been around the block.

We spoke to Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito about the new personnel on the I-95 Morning Show Thursday (12/8/22) and he told us the following:

"It's a really good group of seasoned group of officers that are coming. They're called lateral transfers, they are coming from different departments but that gives us a leg up actually because they are already pre-trained. They'll go through a little bit of a process with us but it's a diverse group and it represents the City of Danbury, really good. You know, as I said in the beginning, my goal is to build that department to the max. Right now, on contract, our max is 160, as far as staffing. We're at 145 I think, right now but the goal is to max out on our staffing and keep the people of the city safe."

The Mayor is walking the walk on this issue. During his campaign, Mayor Esposito was steadfast in his support for the Danbury Police Department. He made it clear that he intended to get the department what it needed, to keep residents safe.

You can listen to the Mayor's comments on the new police officers below. The audio comes from Thursday's (12/8/22) Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Show on I-95.

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