SOME HOPE THAT ENDED QUICKLY

I will eventually get to more details of the HPD Union sponsored seminar, but one of the main things discussed was the importance of police/community relationships.

The amount of mistrust between the community and the police always has surprised me. This has been a topic of conversation between myself and Chief Daryl Roberts on many occasions. The residents don't trust the cops, the cops don't trust the residents and everyone suffers.

One of my constant gripes are officers that constantly miss huge opportunities to interact with the community and let those opportunities slip by. I'm not sure if it is something that needs to be taught because it just seems like common sense.

A perfect example are the vigils held by Rev. Henry Brown after just about every homicide. I try to support Rev. Brown by attending as many vigils as possible. I would almost assure anyone that at just about every vigil there is a wealth of knowledge that could be gained into the crimes by some in attendance. Many of the vigils are attended by people that live within a couple hundred feet of the crime scenes.

The same people that live in the neighborhood and look out their windows when they hear noise or gunfire. The same people that hear the talk on the streets and know who is doing what. The same people that are afraid of the police and have no trust that they can talk to the unknown officer in the uniform.

At so many of these vigils, police officers are in attendance but they sit in their cruisers, most times with the windows rolled up. Parked at the curb while numerous potential witnesses, potential crime solvers stand feet away from them waiting to do the right thing. Unfortunately they can't do the right thing because they are afraid. Afraid of the dangerous streets and afraid to approach or even trust the unknown officer in the uniform.

At tonight's vigil at Enfield and Greenfield Streets a glimmering ray of hope was shining huge. Several officers were present. They had flyers, they were standing on the yellow line in traffic stopping vehicles, talking to people, looking for information. Other officers were walking up and down the streets going up to porches and talking to people. The television news cameras were eating it up, everyone was focused on the interaction between the police and the community.

One reporter asked me if the police always did that and I told her I had never seen it before, but I thought it was great. It was a great effort, but the bottom fell out quickly.

The vigil started and the five or six officers regrouped on an opposite corner away from the residents in attendance. They probably didn't even realize how it looked to those in attendance. What they had just made look so good a few minutes earlier now looked like business as usual once again. Maybe it isn't just common sense, but crossing the street, meeting the residents, just mingling would make a huge difference in how the police are perceived.

It isn't going to change things overnight, but we need to start working toward the mutual respect and relationships that will benefit everyone, especially Hartford as a city.