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Hartford Police Chief Search Could Take Longer Than Planned

Initial February deadline unlikely to be met

By Jeff Cohen

December 19, 2011

Hartford officials say they will likely miss their February deadline for picking a new person to run the police department. As WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, the current police chief's tenure ends December 31st.

Daryl Roberts is leaving after 30 years on the force and more than five years as the city's chief. He announced his retirement in September -- just before Mayor Pedro Segarra released the results of an outside investigation that said the police department had serious management issues.

In November, Segarra said he hoped to hire a search consultant by the end of the year and that he wanted a new chief by February.

That now looks less likely. The selection of the search consultant was delayed three weeks. And the city says the process could take even longer than first anticipated, because Segarra wants community input.

As a result, the city is in the process of finding an interim chief. A spokeswoman says that announcement should come before year's end.