WPRO News and the Associated Press
Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut has hired controversial former Providence and New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman, according to a report from NBCConnecticut.com.
“Dean Esserman came aboard today as a senior professional-in-residence for emergency management response,” Vice President for Quinnipiac University public affairs Lynn Bushnell told the NBC affiliate. “He will examine the university’s emergency response plans to make sure we’re using the best practices to keep the university community as safe as possible.”
A school spokesman confirmed that it is a full-time job but did not disclose the salary.
Police union President Craig Miller told The New Haven Register the hiring was “amazing.” The union had voted no confidence in Esserman.
Esserman resigned as Police Chief in New Haven earlier this month after being placed on paid leave by for behavior Mayor Toni Harp called “unbecoming of a public official” after he allegedly berated a waitress at a local restaurant.
Esserman had a similar run in at a Yale University football game last year and had “exchanged words” with Secret Service officials during a visit by First Lady Michelle Obama to Connecticut in 2014.
His term as police chief in Providence ended in controversy 2011 after a report by Dan McGowan (now a WPRI reporter) revealed that Esserman had hosted an underage drinking party at his home.
