(Editor's note: The poll that originally accompanied this article has been removed due to technical issues.)
The New Haven Register has chosen the , the New Haven-based Catholic priest who has been a central figure in making public allegations of mistreatment and profiling of Latino residents by the , as its 2011 "Person of the Year."
Manship, of St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven, is one of the original plaintiffs who filed against several East Haven Police officers last year.
Last month, one of those 10 plantiffs, Yadanny Garcia, , which could result in three of the East Haven Police officers named in the suit being dropped as defendants in the case.
The suit was spurred by Manship's arrest by East Haven Police in 2009 at My Country Store on Main Street, after he reportedly was claiming police were harassing them (see Manship's video of the arrest posted in the gallery that accompanies this article). Manship's charges were later dropped.
Following the arrest, the U. S. Department of Justice began into the . A separate criminal probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a related federal , into the civil rights violations are ongoing.
After its two-year investigation, the that East Haven Police had "engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against Latinos in violation of the Constitution and federal law" at a last month.
In response, Manship and other church leaders stating that the federal agency's findings supported their allegations of racial profiling and police brutality against Latinos by the East Haven Police Department.
“Two years ago this month, our congregation and others in the community joined together in a vigil recognizing the start of this investigation,” Manship stated in the release. “The Department of Justice’s announcement today vindicates the complaints of racial profiling by Latinos that have devastated our community for years.”
In its announcement, the Register reported that when notified Manship was chosen as the newspaper's Person of the Year, East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. and East Haven congratulated Manship but declined any further comment.
However, Richard Gudis, attorney for East Haven Police officers union , stated that his views and Manship's "are not always aligned."
“The men and women of the East Haven Police Department and Manship share the common desire to advance other people’s rights and are not afraid to assert themselves when necessary to do what they feel is correct, regardless of what the peril to themselves may be," Guidi was quoted as saying in The Register's article.
The East Haven Board of Police Commissioners recently filed regarding Gudis' actions during the .
The complaint alleges Gudis' "became combative and argumentative" at the meeting, violating provisions of "the Rules of Professional Responsibility."
