Bridgeport City Police Lieutenant Brian Dickerson has been suspended without pay for 10 days due to his involvement in the 2018 police chief hiring scandal.
Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia announced Dickerson’s suspension on Monday and revealed that Dickerson violated five department rules and regulations.
In 2018, multiple police personnel were involved in rigging the search of a police chief so that former chief, Armando Perez, would receive the position.
In 2020, Perez and former city Personnel Director David Dunn, pleaded guilty in federal court to collaborating to rig the competition so that Perez would receive a five-year contract as chief. They also pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about it.
Perez mentioned that two more officers were involved in the scandal but did not identify who they were. These officers, reportedly assisted Perez in drafting his resume cover letter and preparing his written responses for the chief exam according to the Connecticut Post.
Multiple sources in the police department would later identify as one of those officers as Dickerson. Dickerson previously ran the department's Office of Internal Affairs. He reportedly violated his command responsibilities, violated the department’s code of ethics, and used unbecoming conduct in the department.
Dickerson is still currently in line to be promoted to captain.
