The President of the New Haven Connecticut Police Union calls it disheartening that the city’s police chief has been put on paid leave after another outburst.

Chief Dean Esserman, the former Providence police chief, has been accused of berating a waitress at a local restaurant. Esserman was known to make similar angry outbursts during his time in Rhode Island.

This is the second time Esserman has been reprimanded by New Haven’s mayor for his conduct in public. In 2014 he reportedly berated a volunteer usher at a Yale football game. Craig Miller, president of the New Haven Police Union, Elm City Local, said these incidents put a mark on police officers.

“You know, you’re in front of a chief that’s telling you that our character is supposed to be, you know, better standards than normal people in the community — him acting out in this type of behavior is just very appalling to every officer,” said Miller.

New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said in a statement earlier this week she found Esserman’s conduct unbecoming a public official. Harp said she and Esserman mutually agreed he would take a 15 working-day, paid leave.

Miller said it’s hard to know what the mayor’s plan is for Esserman’s future.

“It’s a leave-of-absence,” said Miller. “I’m not sure whether it’s a discipline or not. I’m just wondering if the leave-of-absence is just time to get things together and figure out which way they’re gonna move after the three weeks, or if they’re gonna ask him to resign, or terminate him.

Earlier this month New Haven police union members voted 170 to 42 that it had no confidence in Chief Esserman. Miller says morale in the department’s been low over the past year. Esserman also received a no confidence vote in 2009 when he was chief of police in Providence Rhode Island.

Esserman did not return request for comment.

New Haven’s police department’s has gained national attention for their community policing efforts and steady decline in crime under Esserman’s leadership. Esserman recently took part in a discussion in Washington, D.C. with President Barack Obama on how to improve relationships between police and communities.

This report comes from the New England News Collaborative. Eight public media companies coming together to tell the story of a changing region, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.