Melissa Bailey Photo
Making a debut appearance in New Haven just 12 days after an anonymous caller prompted a massive lockdown at Yale, the nation’s new FBI chief called on law enforcement officers to “be very aggressive and put some people in jail” to prevent copycat crimes.
James B. Comey, who took over the FBI in September, made the remarks in a visit Friday to New Haven’s FBI building at 600 State St.
Comey, whose family lives in Westport, met with local law enforcement officers, then spoke with media, as part of a national get-to-know-you tour.
His appearance in New Haven brought a swarm of media to the State Street building, which serves as the FBI’s statewide headquarters.
Labradors sniffed out visitors’ bags and cameras at the Grove Street gate.
Comey first met privately with about 20 police chiefs and other top police brass from around the state, including Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Yale, Norwich, Hamden and Ansonia.
Then the chiefs lined up in a fifth-story conference room ahead of Comey. Comey emerged from a side room after about 10 minutes. The 6‑foot‑8 man — who, in his role as Deputy U.S. Attorney under the Bush administration, once physically blocked Bush aides from trying to persuade a bed-ridden U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft from reauthorizing a domestic surveillance program — loomed high above the police brass.
Comey was asked about a recent rash of lockdowns in response to threats of gunmen at Yale, the University of New Haven and Central Connecticut State University.
In a post-Sandy Hook era, is he concerned that these kinds of lockdowns are becoming more frequent?
Comey said yes. He commended law enforcement officers for their response in all three cases. He said such episodes “seem to work in fads.”
“Disturbed persons are inspired” by the media attention that one incident attracts.
After the “unspeakable” tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School last December, Comey said, everyday citizens need to be on alert for anything that seems suspicious, on social media, in electronic messages, or in person.
“Listen to the hairs that are rising on the back of your neck,” he said. “if you see something, say something.”
Comey was asked how his agency can prevent cities from being shut down due to prank calls, as may have happened at Yale last week.
“The answer is to be very aggressive and put some people in jail,” he said. That will prove a deterrent to people considering making future threats, he argued.
Comey also vowed to address an “uptick in violent crime,” especially in Connecticut. He cited the “very high” homicide and violent crime rates in Connecticut cities. He said the FBI’s efforts to curb that crime will be hampered by budget fights in Congress, which threaten to force him to eliminate 3,500 positions across the agency, and furlough workers.
He said the agency’s top priority is counter-terrorism. He also placed an emphasis on stopping cyber-criminals who harass or steal information from people online.
“It’s a threat that is metastasizing,” Comey said.
New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman was among the chiefs who met Comey privately before the press conference. He said he sees Comey as an ally in the fight against daily gun violence plaguing cities.
“I raised the issue of violence in America,” and “the moral outrage that is needed in Washington,” Esserman said.
“All of us felt strongly that he was passionate about that subject.”
I like that "put some people in jail". You could say the same thing about mass shootings.
Lets make a list.