Former Connecticut police chief arrested over alleged $85,000 theft from department funds
The former police chief in New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested on theft charges Friday following allegations he stole $85,000 from two department accounts.
Karl Jacobson, retired suddenly He turned himself in in January on an arrest warrant from the department. He was later released on a court-set $150,000 bond, a prosecutor said in a news release. Jacobson faces two counts of theft for defrauding the public.
“Allegation of embezzlement by a police officer is a serious matter and potentially undermines public confidence in the criminal justice system,” State Attorney General Patrick J. Griffin said in a statement.
Jacobson’s attorney, Gregory Cerritelli, said he could not yet respond to the specific allegations but reminded the public that “an arrest is not evidence of guilt and allegations are not evidence.”
“This is the beginning of a very long process,” he said in an emailed statement. “I urge everyone to keep an open mind and avoid hasty judgment.”
Last month, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, in announcing Jacobson’s retirement, said the former chief admitted to taking money from a city fund that compensates confidential informants for helping police solve crimes.
Elicker said the former chief admitted taking the funds for personal use after three of his aides confronted him over financial irregularities.
The mayor called the allegations “shocking” at a news conference Friday and noted that Jacobson initially admitted to taking $10,000 from just one account.
Elicker stated that the incident was under investigation and said, “We did not know how deep this was.” He said the arrest warrant showed Jacobson had “serious problems” with gambling.
“It’s a very sad day for the city to see a chief who was loved by so many people arrested for stealing public money, as well as money meant for children,” Elicker said. Jacobson is also accused of taking money from the police athletic league, which provides a variety of programs for the city’s youth.
Jacobson had served as police chief for three years in one of Connecticut’s largest cities, where Yale University is located. HE He took office in July 2022Just weeks after the death of a black man He was paralyzed in the back of the police van in an incident that shook the police department and the city.
The city of New Haven first reported the embezzlement allegations on Jan. 5, which led to an investigation by the Connecticut State Police, the state attorney’s office said Friday. The investigation revealed that between January 1, 2024 and January 5, 2026, $81,500 from the New Haven Police Department Narcotics Enforcement Fund was unaccounted for or misappropriated. Money from the fund is used to pay confidential informants who assist in narcotics investigations.
“The defendant had access to the money in this fund,” according to a news release, which said bank records show checks related to the fund were deposited into Jacobson’s personal checking account.
Additionally, two checks totaling $4,000 were drawn from the New Haven Police Activities Alliance Fund between December 23 and December 24, 2025. Both were found in Jacobson’s personal account, the prosecutor’s office said. Investigators said no one else from the police department was involved.
Jacobson had been with the department for 15 years before being appointed chief. He previously served nine years with the East Providence Police Department in Rhode Island.
