A casual observer in this latest saga involving our Police Department would be wrongfully led to believe a single officer committed the most egregious wrong against those who were arrested after a long car chase that ended in New Haven. That assumption, in my view, would be the most erroneous to make, and let me explain why.

As a military veteran and one with many years of business management experience, I am not only familiar with chain-of-command responsibility, but most significant, the meaning of the adage that says: The buck stops here.

Given the Malik Jones incident (which remains open), plus the Department of Justice investigation and indictments of several of our police officers for abusive practices, one would think the leadership body-beginning with the chief of police, the assistant chief of police, the Board of Police Commissioners, the mayor, and his town attorney-would have come up with a set of policy directives that would address every conceivable situation to prevent the repeat of those very expensive and potentially financially bankrupting events.

But then again, that task is probably too complex a project to expect. Moreover, there is also this exhortation that warns a subordinate to never outshine his master, which, from the perspective of the chief, looking better than the mayor may not really serve his best interest.

My point is this: The individuals whose office I've just mentioned should be held the most responsible for this fiasco. To put the onus on a single officer and not on the leaders is to ignore the reason why we confer salubrious titles and benefits to these selected few and pay them more.

In a vacuum of leadership, everyone is a leader, so isn't it time we hold leadership accountable? East Haven's tarnished identity must be changed.

Oni SiosonEast Haven

Oni Sioson is seeking the office of mayor as a petitioning candidate.