The City of Hartford recorded its eleventh homicide today in the area of 67 Oakland Terrace.It is the city's third homicide in less than 2 weeks.The shooting took place a little after 3:30 this afternoon.
A little after 6:00PM I drove by the area and was surprised that the crime scene was already clear, no yellow tape, no police, back to usual. Oakland Terrace is a one way street that runs south between Albany Avenue and Homestead Avenue.
I was cruising down the street pretty slow to see house numbers and see which one was number 67, where I was told the shooting occurred. I know I was out of place, but I knew that most likely a large police presence had just left the neighborhood. As I came up on 67 Oakland Terrace, I was approached by two young males.
They wanted to know what I wanted to "buy. It just struck me as odd that they probably had just witnessed someone they knew murdered in the same spot less than 3 hours earlier and now they were trying to sell me drugs. Had they just moved up in the chain and were taking over the "business opening", or is this the way it always is on the streets.
Are they potentially number 12 and 13 waiting to happen over the other "War on drugs"?
I don't know what the solution is, but I do know it won't be a quick fix. In the meantime the bloodshed needs to be stopped. Eleven homicides so far this year is unacceptable. Not to mention the bodies laying in Hartford and Saint Francis Hospital on life support that are only one breath away from becoming a homicide number, and there are a few of them.
In the meantime, Chief Roberts, it is not a sign of failure to ask for help.Whether that help comes in the form of extra money for increased police patrols and attention or if it comes from outside agencies, it is definitely needed. The State Police are not the answer, but DEA, ATF, FBI and any other alphabet soup agency that can send strong messages need to be asked to come into Hartford as soon as possible in much greater numbers than they are already here.
A long hot summer can spiral out of control quickly and we are way too far into the homicide stats for this early in the year. Mayor Segarra announced this afternoon that we may actually have a surplus. If that's the case, put it to use and start the enforcement today. Don't play politics with Public Safety, send a strong message to the gun toting thugs ruining our City.
Business as usual is not acceptable.
Kevin - It's sickening to me to hear or read about this absolute disregard for human life!
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I believe the Mayor and, the Governor as well, needs to step up to the plate and denounce this behavior in our City.
Especially the new Governor, because Lord knows the previous one didn't give a damn about people of color and/or other people living in the City. Case in point - saw her face a million times during the Cheshire home invasion!
Gov. Malloy could set the tone along with the Mayor to send a message that EVERYONE'S life matters and the State and City will not tolerate this insane behavior!
This alone is not the only solution. There are so many people in Hartford that just don't give a damn, and it overshadows the people that do care. The police department is not a pro-active department - they're re-active. Although community policing and more "boots on the ground" will certainly help.
I also think that Mothers Against Violence,Rev. Henry Brown, the NAACP, The Urban League, etc. need to take their protests out of the neighborhoods and bring the masses to the State Capitol every time a murder happens in the City.
Other cities have done this and at the very least you will get not only local media attention, but national as well!!
Then perhaps, with a concerted effort between concerned citizen groups and those affected by the violence, could take the march down to Washington to the doorstep of the President and Congress!!
After all, desperate times call for desperate measures!!