A woman was robbed recently in the deep recesses of East Rock Park. She was alone and didn’t have a cell phone — two mistakes, in Lt. Thaddeus Reddish’s book.
Reddish (pictured) used the case as a cautionary tale Monday night at an East Rock management team meeting.
He insisted he wasn’t blaming the victim, but rather offering advice at the meeting at the East Rock Global Magnet School. His comments sparked a passionate discussion — and some objections.
The incident involving the woman occurred two to three weeks ago, during the daytime, according to Reddish.
“Don’t go into the park by yourself,” Reddish said, district manager for East Rock and Newhallville. “Don’t go into the park and not have a cell phone. I feel bad she got robbed; she’s a victim. But the reality is, we [police] can’t be everywhere.”
He said she filed a complaint with the police department for its poor response time. Reddish said the cops couldn’t find her in a timely way because she was off the beaten track — without a cell phone.
“Speaking for myself, and only for myself,” management team chair Kevin McCarthy (pictured) said forcefully, “I go into the park by myself regularly. I think the advice that people not go walking by themselves in this neighborhood, while understandable, is profoundly wrong. I think people have to use common sense and be aware of their surroundings. I’ve seen people walk around with their iPhones and have a [virtual] big target marked on their back.
“I respect what you’re saying in the interest of the safety of residents, and people need to be cautious. But we’re all adults and we have to be responsible for our actions.”
Reddish responded, “Do what you want; you’re an adult. But when it [crime] happens, don’t email an attack on the police department for failure, because we can’t be everywhere.”
He said he has officers driving around in their cruisers, keeping an eye out for crime. He asked the 15 neighbors at the meeting, “What is it you think we should be doing more of?”
Ned Pocengal had a suggestion. He said he was dismayed while walking in the park one time to see three men walk by with a rifle. He called the police. “The dispatcher was so unfamiliar with the layout of the park that I had to stay on the phone for about 10 minutes while there were these guys walking around with a rifle, just to describe my location in the park,” he reported. “It was very simple to find where I was — it was the only entrance that you can drive through.” He suggested all police department staff should be educated about the layout of the parks.
“Did you call 911?” asked another person at the meeting. “Because I’ve always had terrific response time when I call 911 and horrible response time when I call [946]-6316.”
Pocengal said he called the non-emergency number. Someone else said, “The person you spoke to should have told you to hang up and call 911.”
That led to a question from McCarthy about when residents should call which phone line.
“It’s like this,” Reddish explained. “If you have a fender bender, [call] the general number. If there’s been a car accident and people are hurt, it’s 911. Any time you’re dealing with a gun, knives, blood, murder, screaming, yelling — 911. If you feel like you’re about to take your last breath or somebody else is about to take their last breath — 911. It’s about how you feel; if you feel it’s an emergency situation, I say call it.”
He encouraged people to err on the side of calling 911, because a dispatcher could always tell them their concern is not an emergency and direct callers to the general number. He advised against calling the number at the police substation — where he never is — and leaving an urgent message, “I need you to pick up!”
“We’re not there; it’s an empty building,” he said.
Wow,..! someone becomes a victim of a senseless crime,..and we (the police) are being blamed for a poor response time. thank god the victim was not seriuosly hurt and is still here with us to talk about her incident. but,..as lt. reddish said, the police can't be everywhere all the time. we get negative feedback from the public for being aggressive in trying to stop crime and yelled at yet again for being to passive in trying to stop crime. this is the only profession that i know of where EVERYTHING WE DO IS SECOND GUESSED BY PEOPLE ON THE OUTSIDE,. who have no idea what it's like to be out there on the streets dealing with what we deal with. when was the last time you questioned your doctor, lawyer, accountant regarding their professions?