Doug Bethea, who lost his son to gun violence in November, is forming a group made up of fellow grieving parents who have buried their own murdered children. He announced the group Tuesday night at a packed meeting Tuesday night in the Dixwell neighborhood, as Mayor John DeStefano took his plan to combat gun violence on the road.
DeStefano’s presentation to more than 50 people who tried to cram into the community center at Monterrey Place showed how guns have been used increasingly in homicides, and how both victims and perpetrators are getting younger. The mayor outlined the city’s plans to create a firearms unit and work with state police to track illegal guns. Other proposals include adding 80 cops over the next two years, intervening early with truant youngsters and compelling testimony from witnesses to crimes.
That last proposal sounded especially good to Bethea. After his son, Robert Bennett, 20, was shot near where the meeting was held, he said he went on a “rampage,” constantly calling the mayor and the city’s top cops. Click hereto listen. His basic message was that members of the community have to take responsibility “” not as vigilantes, but working along with the cops “” for reining in the violence. He also announced that he contacted the families of every person killed in New Haven last year, and some from the year before. They’re forming a new group, Parents Against Inner City Crime, to magnify their voices on the issue.
The mayor announced that he’s appointed Officer Shafiq Abdussabur “” who works in Dixwell and has a proven track record of connecting with youth “” to be the new coordinator for street outreach.
Several people mentioned the importance of going after those who bring the guns into the community, not just those who end up committing a violent crime with those guns. Sheneane Ragin (pictured) said a bill that failed in the state legislature last year would have required gun owners to immediately report guns that were missing or stolen. If it had passed, she said, “We would’ve been able to track where guns are coming from so we can put a real plan in place to get guns off the street.”
Asked what she thought of the mayor’s plan, she was non-committal. “It’ll be interesting to see”¬¶” she began, then trailed off.
Mayoral spokesman Derek Slap said supporting that bill this year is a top priority of his administration.
Another resident applauded the mayor’s plan but said what’s missing is a conflict management component, so teens with a beef and access to weapons don’t automatically turn to guns to solve it. Lack of options for those coming back to the neighborhood after leaving prison was also cited as a problem. And many others stressed the need for parents to be role models and to just be present for their children.
One homeowner asked DeStefano what kind of impact putting his proposals into effect would have on the bottom line “” her property taxes. He replied that federal funding for cops ($3.3 million in the mid-1990s) has completely dried up, so the $3 million it will cost to train and add the new officers to the department will come from an increase in property taxes of one-third to one-half mill. (The mill rate is currently $44.85 on each thousand dollars of a home’s assessed value.) She asked him to seek out other ways to fund city government. He replied, with an ironic laugh, that he’d spent the last two years on the gubernatorial campaign trail making that a key component of his effort to unseat Gov. M. Jodi Rell “” without success.
Accompanying the mayor were Police Chief Cisco Ortiz, both deputy chiefs, Herman Badger and Stephanie Redding, several other members of the police department, and Chief Administrative Officer John Buturla. They stood in a phalanx against one wall throughout the meeting, a visual reminder that the city is making the issue of gun violence a top priority.
“It’s great to have ideas in City Hall,” the mayor told residents at the start of the meeting, “but people don’t live in City Hall.” Based on a quick survey of several attendees at the end of the meeting, it appeared that the residents of Dixwell “” at least those who came to the meeting “” are prepared to work with the mayor to reclaim their streets.
A five, or six hundred dollar 9mm semi-automatic pistol, Tech-9, or AR-15 assault rifle is an expensive item, carrying both lethality, but also status.
These are not the guns being turned-in for gift coupons to Shaw's and the Stop & Shop.
People that have acquired these weapons, by whatever means, prize them for street credibility, and notoriety, as much as for protection, or other nefarious ends. These weapons are not outside under a rock. These are to be found in the homes of teenagers, and young adults living at home, who use them.
Why not make an important part of any policy a "Clean Homes Policy". Parents can undertake to control their own household to ascertain that illegally-possessed fire arms are not being maintained by teenagers, and young adults residing under their roofs.
A safe community begins at home!