The former police chief in New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested Friday on larceny charges following allegations he stole $85,000 from two department accounts.
Karl Jacobson, 56, who abruptly retired from the department in January, turned himself in on an arrest warrant. He was later released on a court-set bond of $150,000, a state prosecutor said in a news release. Jacobson faces two counts of larceny related to defrauding a public community.
“An allegation of embezzlement by a police official is a serious matter and potentially undermines public confidence in the criminal justice system,” Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin said in a statement.
Jacobson’s lawyer, Gregory Cerritelli, said he could not respond to the specific allegations yet but reminded the public that “an arrest is not evidence of guilt and allegations are not proof.”
“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 a rush to judgment.”
Last month, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, when announcing Jacobson’s retirement, said the former chief admitted he took money from a city fund that compensates confidential informants for helping police solve crimes.
Elicker said the former chief acknowledged taking the funds for personal use when three of his deputies confronted him over the financial irregularities. According to the arrest warrant, Jacobson told the deputies he was spending too much money on sports betting apps, was seeking help for a gambling addiction and intended to replace the money.
During the recorded conversation, Jacobson apologized and asked the deputies “for an opportunity to save myself” so he could avoid going to prison and losing his pension, according to the warrant.
Investigators determined that Jacobson wagered more than $4.4 million on his DraftKings and FanDuel accounts between Jan. 1, 2025, and Jan. 5, 2026. He won more than $4.2 million but lost more than $214,000. Jacobson earned $180,000 a year as police chief.
The mayor called the allegations “shocking” during a Friday news conference and said Jacobson initially admitted taking $10,000 from only one police account.
“We didn’t know how deep this went,” Elicker said, noting the case remains under investigation.
“It’s a very sad day for the city to see a chief, who was beloved by so many people, arrested for a theft of public money and also money that was intended for children,” Elicker said. Jacobson is accused of also taking money from the police athletic league, which provides a range of programs for the city’s youth.
Jacobson had served for three years as police chief in one of Connecticut’s largest cities, which is home to Yale University. He took office in July 2022, just weeks after a Black man was paralyzed in the back of a police van in an incident that roiled the police department and the city.
The state prosecutor’s office said Friday the city of New Haven first reported the embezzlement allegations on Jan. 5, which prompted an investigation by the Connecticut State Police. The probe revealed $81,500 was unaccounted for or misappropriated from the New Haven Police Department Narcotic Enforcement Fund between Jan. 1, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2026. Money from the fund is used to pay confidential informants who help in narcotics investigations.
“The defendant had access to money in that fund,” according to a news release, which said bank records showed checks associated with the fund were deposited into Jacobson’s personal checking account.
Two checks totaling $4,000 were also withdrawn from the New Haven Police Activity League Fund between Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, 2025. The prosecutor’s office said both were found in Jacobson’s personal account. Investigators said no one else at the police department was involved in the matter.
Jacobson had been with the department for 15 years before being named chief. He previously served in the East Providence Police Department in Rhode Island for nine years.
—AP