The Hartford City Council has confirmed the appointment of James Rovella as the city's next police chief more than a decade after he previously took the position and later moved on to ultimately serve as commissioner of the state department that oversees Connecticut State Police.
"Over the past five months, Interim Chief James Rovella has demonstrated the steady hand and trustworthy leadership our city needs during this critical time for public safety," Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said in an email correspondence on Tuesday.
"Chief Rovella's deep roots in Hartford, combined with his extensive experience and commitment to our community-first policing model and data-driven violence prevention strategies, leave him extremely qualified to lead the Hartford Police Department and to help us build a safer, stronger Hartford for all our residents."
Rovella's confirmation as chief comes after he went before the city's Committee of the Whole on Aug. 20, outlining his goals and taking questions on how he planned to run the department. Some of the priorities he discussed included recruitment and community engagement.
"So my task will be to, as I look forward to attrition, I have to match and be prepared for that attrition years down the road," Rovella said during the virtual meeting. "So I have to continue to hire folks."
He added that anticipated retirements would allow others within the department opportunities for growth and promotions.
"As people retire and we promote, it's going to open up positions, not only in supervisory positions, but it's going to offer detective positions, it's going to offer special teams," Rovella said. "So these young men and women are going to have some phenomenal opportunities. So they should stay and watch those opportunities."
Rovella also said he intentionally stayed out of the community as the city's search for a permanent chief was conducted, as he said he did not want to interfere with the process and the other candidates.
Once he was offered the position, however, he said he and his wife immediately began looking to move out of Old Saybrook and back into the city. Living in Hartford will give Rovella the opportunity to walk to work and spend more time in the community, getting reacquainted with its residents, he said.
Rovella's career in law enforcement began with the Hartford Police Department in 1981. He later became the chief inspector at the Office of the States Attorney before returning to Hartford in 2012 to take over as chief.
Rovella was later appointed commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection in 2019, a position he held until his retirement in 2023 amid an investigation into a state police traffic ticket controversy.
Rovella's appointment comes after Arulampalam in January announced that Tyrell McCoy -- who was described as a 36-year-old "rising star" in the Philadelphia Police Department -- would become the city's next chief.
A week later, McCoy announced that he had withdrawn his name from consideration. Weeks later, a Philadelphia police sergeant filed a federal lawsuit against McCoy on sexual harassment accusations.