President of the Bridgeport Police Union Michael Salemme III:
“CHIEF PORTER’S LONELY CORNER”
I write as the President of the Bridgeport Police Union, Local 1159, to address serious concerns regarding Chief Porter’s lack of leadership and the decrease of morale our officers face on a daily basis. Chief Porter is a disgruntled ex-employee who has personal vendettas against some of our officers from his tenure as a captain with the Bridgeport Police Department. He retired, opened a lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport, and was selected chief shortly after.
As the voice of our membership, it is important for me to inform the public that majority of our members are not happy under Chief Porter. Although social media may paint a picture that it is, I assure you that it is not. Last year, a vote of no confidence was brought up at a union meeting. The two members who motioned it and two additional officers who supported it, were all later targeted in either discipline coming forth, stopped on a promotional list, or not chosen for a specialized unit. Right now, most members want to do a “vote of no confidence” against Chief Porter, but are afraid of retaliation
Chief Porter has teamed up with Labor Relations to attack the officers he does not like. He has Attorney Linda Cronin, from Labor Relations, as his personal lawyer who follows the script Porter puts together. Some of our officers go into discipline hearings with no chance of a fair outcome. The officers Porter likes get way less punishment and even charges removed from their discipline. Other officers have had unjust punishments and charges added that don’t apply. This inconsistency of discipline puts the union in a tough spot, which has been pitting officers against each other. Since Chief Porter started in December of 2022, complaints were filed against him with Labor Relations. Some complaints were investigated with no outcomes or had to be outsourced to a private company.
Chief Porter has completely decimated the chain of command by purposely not promoting officers due to who’s name was next on the list. Four Sergeants were recently stopped from being promoted to Lieutenants, two Lieutenants were cut short of being captains, and he eliminated 15 sergeant positions on his own doing. There are many openings in each supervisory rank and only the Chief of Police can promote. These positions are budgeted for and there should be no disparity involved. Our officers worked hard to be promoted and their career development was purposely stopped. Some officers are now looking to retire instead of staying past their 25 years.
The police department is not operating efficiently. Chief Porter has created unnecessary mandates by purposely changing our squad structure around. This has created tired officers and an uptick in book offs. He was repeatedly advised by the union and high-ranking command staff that this would not work, but still did it. Our computer based hiring system (Kronos) has tracked a 30% increase in mandates. It was finally changed for the start of 2025, thanks to John Cueto, who was the assistant chief for a short span.
I have been Union President since November of 2023 and have filed over 20 grievances, some leading to several MPP’s. Most of these grievances will not be heard for at least two years. I have tried working with Chief Porter, but he knows there is no discipline that will happen to him or a monetary figure for violating our contract. Our officers are forced to file lawsuits and CHRO complaints. The tax paying citizens of Bridgeport will face the brunt of paying these bills for grievances, reimbursement of attorney fees, and lawsuits. Every grievance filed cost the city $200 apiece.
I have plenty of documentation of violations of the contract and unjust treatment towards a lot of our officers. Mayor Ganim’s office is well aware of these incidents. Chief Porter has done nothing to move our police department forward. The union will be exercising every avenue to combat this unfair treatment and boost morale in the department.
President Michael Salemme III
And response from Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter:
These are baseless, factually inaccurate allegations that only serve to misinform the public and undermine the faith in the City’s public safety function of the Bridgeport Police Department. It is disheartening that a Union President would circumvent the tenants of labor relations and utilize mass media prior to bargaining in good faith as required by the Connecticut Municipal Employers Relations Act. However, this misinformation campaign will not deter me from continuing to support the good work that my officers perform daily. This narrative continues to discredit the important relationship building that this Department continues to strive for, for the benefit of all residents in the City of Bridgeport. I once again, invite President Salemme and any members of the Union to have a productive discussion over these allegations rather than resorting to this medium, so that together we can reasonably resolve all grievances and address any misinformation .
