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DANBURY — Nairoby Pena explains she saw a new opportunity ahead when she decided to join the city’s police department.
Pena is one of several officers who were employed by the New York City Police Department, and opted to move to smaller police departments, like Danbury, where the police force is becoming more diverse. In doing so, Pena moved out-of-state from a force that employs more than 35,000 police officers to one that when fully staffed would comprise 166 officers.
Pena said not only has she moved from a “really big department to a much smaller one,” she joined a police force that appears calmer, with greater empathy among officers, and one that would foster her own career growth.
Empathy is a word that Pena stressed several times in speaking with Hearst Connecticut Media.
“I can never forget that we are dealing with people,” she said.
Pena spoke with Hearst during a break in training on the day before she was set to head out for her first patrol as a sworn police officer in Danbury — officially completing that training and transitioning from a police department in one state to that in another.
“I’m very excited about that,” Pena said.
Increased police staffing
Danbury has made continuous strides toward improving its officer ranks, Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour said. The police department is budgeted for a full staff of 166 officers. Ridenhour recalled that when he first arrived to the department seven years ago, its staffing was well below that — within the range of 120 to 130 officers.
Now the department, with 157 officers, is closer to fully staffed. To go along with that, the personnel who have joined the force include greater numbers of officers of color and women. According to staffing figures provided to Hearst Connecticut Media this week, 18 of the 157 officers are women. The overall number includes 10 Black and African American officers and 30 officers who identify as either Hispanic or Latino.
Those numbers reflect continuous improvement in strengthening the department’s diversity. Ridenhour had told Hearst in December 2022 that the 142 police officers then employed by the city police department included seven Black officers, “at least 13” Hispanic officers and 10 female officers.
The addition of officers like Pena comes at a time when departments like Danbury are not only trying to diversify their ranks to more closely reflect the diversity of the overall city populations they serve, leaders are also trying to bring in officers with skill sets that will help them and members of the public in the field.
For example, Pena and several newer officers are fully bilingual, they speak English and Spanish, which will assist them during encounters with members of the public whose primary language is the latter. Nearly 30 percent of Danbury residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census data.
Pena, a native of the Dominican Republic, described the ability to communicate in multiple languages as important.
Pena explained she moved to the United States seeking opportunity for her and her mother. She initially moved to New York, and began working at Columbia University as a security guard.
For Ridenhour, improving the department’s staffing brings multiple benefits. When staffing was more significantly reduced the department had to pare back its specialized units, reducing its ability to conduct full-service investigations in some areas.
“There was a time when we were in the 120s. We had a lot of units that we were not able to run,” Ridenhour said.
‘No shortage of people wanting to come here’
Improved staffing also equates to improved workload for the department’s officers. It also means the department is able to bring back those specialized units.
“That means our officers have better opportunities for special assignments,” Ridenhour said.
Danbury Police Det. Sg. John Krupinsky explained that leaders of the department’s police union, which represents officers, worked with the department’s administration on the recruitment effort.
Krupinsky is also president of the Connecticut State Fraternal Order of Police. He said the staffing shortage led to officers working more hours and longer shifts.
“It benefited us to work with the administration with recruitment the way we did,” Krupinsky said.
Those efforts appear to be working, in Krupinsky’s view.
“There’s no shortage of people wanting to come here,” he said.
Leaders acknowledged that the recruitment efforts have been fruitful. Now the administration and union must continue to work together to ensure they retain their newly recruited officers.
“We need to make sure our officers have what they need,” Ridenhour said, adding that city leadership has been supportive of the department.
The addition of more bilingual officers like Pena has “really helped in the field,” Krupinsky said.
At a time when police are called to more emergency scenes involving mental health crises, Pena’s own resume includes an academic background in mental health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lehman College.
Pena sees the deescalation of tension and conflict as one of her responsibilities.
“It’s my job,” she said.
Pena was among the group of new Danbury police officers whose hiring and promotions were confirmed during the Aug. 1 City Council meeting.
During that meeting, the new officers stood up in the City Council Chambers, while Mayor Dean Esposito recognized them.
“Thank you all for stepping up and deciding to be part of the best police force in the state of Connecticut. We pray for your safety, thank you very much,” Esposito said at the time.
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