Cop Ferries, Models Mayor’s Message

At around 6:15 p.m., Mayor Justin Elicker’s voice moved west with the speed of traffic on Grand Avenue.

The driver broadcasting that voice message was also following the mayor’s advice on stemming the spread of covid-19.

“To keep all residents protected against COVID-19, please stay home,” the mayor’s voice echoed off the brick façade of Fair Haven School.

“Only leave for important matters. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds,” the voice continued Sunday evening, now bouncing off the cinder-block wall of the C‑Town shopping plaza.

By the time Officer Kevin Blanco’s police cruiser had reached James Street, blaring the message through a loudspeaker, Elicker’s voice had finished the message in English and repeated it in Spanish. Blanco pressed play on his phone again, and the recording began once more.

The Mill River drew closer and closer.

“Always cover your cough. Avoid touching your face, eyes, or mouth. Practice social distancing of at least six feet. Do not gather in groups of more than ten people.”

As the message ended, it blasted out across the water so the lonely smokestacks of English station could hear: ​“With your cooperation, we will get through this. Thank you.”

By the time Blanco had reached East Street, Elicker’s accented Spanish was bouncing off the Rent-A-Center on the other side of the North-South thoroughfare. Blanco turned right, turned right again on Lombard Street, and started the message over, this time headed East back into Fair Haven.

On Saturday, Elicker announced in a press briefing that police officers would be playing a recording in the streets of New Haven urging people to practice social distancing and to wash their hands. As he had promised, those public-service announcements began Saturday evening, shortly after police officers received an email with a recording of their mayor’s voice.

Sunday evening was Blanco’s second time blasting Elicker’s calm but forceful voice over his cruiser’s loudspeaker as he went about his patrol in his Fair Haven patrol district. He said he had spent some time playing it on Saturday as well at Criscuolo Park, where people often gather.

Blanco is a relatively new member of the New Haven police force. He graduated from the police academy in May. He has been patrolling Fair Haven, where his parents used to live and where he went to church growing up, since August.

The department has been careful to keep its officers safe, including by moving roll call online. Officers, in turn, have been showing up to work and carefully hitting the streets to keep the public safe.

Blanco said he tries to keep his distance from people at all times. If he has to do a house call with someone who has been infected with the novel coronavirus, he has a Tyvek suit, a mask, and gloves he is supposed to wear. He keeps a tub of Lysol wipes in his bag so he can wipe down the controls in his cruiser periodically.

When he gets home, he leaves his boots in his garage and puts his clothes in a plastic bag. He washes his hands thoroughly with soap and water — just as Elicker advises in the recording — then puts on gloves and washes his clothes. Then, he takes a shower.

While some people are able to stay home and avoid contracting and spreading the virus, Blanco and other first responders don’t have that luxury. When community members slow the spread of the virus by washing their hands and staying home, it helps first responders like Blanco stay safe, he said.

On Sunday, not everyone was staying home. A group of about ten men leaned against the fence at the dead end of James Street next to Criscuolo Park. He parked, and started the recording.

All the way over by the water where the group was standing, the recording was faint, though still audible.

“We like it. We agree to it,” John Guse (pictured above, right) said of the mayor’s message. He said he and his friends were out fishing. Guse said he works in construction. He’s not working at the moment, but that’s normal, because of the season. Once it gets warmer, the work should start up again, he said. He said he’s not worried about being out of work because of the virus.

Blanco, who was back in his car, has been practicing social distancing himself. He lives alone with his dog, so he’s not worried about getting anyone in his house sick. But he has not been able to see his parents since the pandemic began, and probably won’t be able to until it ends, even though they live in East Haven, where he also lives. He said they’ve been having coffee together over Facetime in the morning.

The intersection of Grand Avenue and Ferry Street was bustling as Blanco approached. Drivers were pulling in and out of the parking lots on both sides of Ferry, some picking up food from McDonald’s on one side, some loading groceries from C‑Town into their trunks on the other. It’s usually a good place to encounter a lot of people, Blanco said.

He pulled into the C‑Town parking lot and parked alongside Ferry Street, facing the store. He began the message again.

Glenda Dearmas (pictured) was pulling away in her white SUV as she heard the announcement. She had stopped to talk to a friend through her rolled-down window.

“It’s good. It’s very good,” she said of the recording. She said she stays home as much as she can. ​“I buy something for myself and for my child, and then I go home,” she said. On Sunday, she had just stopped by C‑Town to pick up water and paper towels, and then headed straight home. She works in the state Department of Developmental Services, so she still has to go in to work, which makes her nervous. She said she wears gloves and a mask to protect herself.

About 30 feet away, Blanco stepped out of his cruiser as Yolanda Santiago approached. Once she came about six feet from him, he asked her to stop, modeling the distance she should keep from other people. They began in Spanish, and then switched to English.

“Make sure you wash your hands,” he told her. ​“If you go into a place like C‑Town, make sure you wipe down the cart. If you’re talking to someone, it can spread that way, if someone coughs or sneezes on you.”

Santiago said she wants to protect her mother from the virus. ​“That’s why I asked him,” she said.

As Blanco pulled into the police substation on Blatchley Avenue and stepped out of his cruiser for a moment, he reflected in the fading twilight on the paranoid lives that New Haveners suddenly find themselves living. ​“It doesn’t even feel like this is happening,” he said. ​“It’s mind blowing. It doesn’t feel real.” But, he said, ​“it’s something we can pull through together.”

Blanco said he and other officers will continue playing the recording on their patrols throughout the week, and maybe into the weeks after as well.

Other installments in the Independent’s ​“Cop of the Week” series: 

• Shafiq Abdussabur
• Yessennia Agosto
• Craig Alston & Billy White Jr.
• Joseph Aurora
• James Baker
• Lloyd Barrett
• Pat Bengston & Mike Valente
• Elsa Berrios
• Manmeet Bhagtana (Colon)
• Paul Bicki
• Paul Bicki (2)
• Sheree Biros
• Bitang
• Scott Branfuhr
• Bridget Brosnahan
• Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
• Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
• Dennis Burgh
• Anthony Campbell
• Darryl Cargill & Matt Wynne
• Elizabeth Chomka & Becky Fowler
• Rob Clark & Joe Roberts
• Sydney Collier
• Carlos Conceicao
• Carlos Conceicao (2)
• Carlos Conceicao and Josh Kyle
• David Coppola
• Mike Criscuolo
• Natalie Crosby
• Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
• Chad Curry
• Gregory Dash
• Roy Davis
• Joe Dease
• Milton DeJesus
• Milton DeJesus (2)
• Rose Dell
• Brian Donnelly
• Renee Dominguez, Leonardo Soto, & Mary Helland
• Anthony Duff
• Anthony Duff (2)
• Robert DuPont
• Robert DuPont and Rose Dell
• Eric Eisenhard & Jasmine Sanders
• Jeremie Elliott and Scott Shumway
• Jeremie Elliott (2)
• Jose Escobar Sr.
• Bertram Ettienne
• Bertram Ettienne (2)
• Martin Feliciano & Lou DeCrescenzo
• Paul Finch
• Jeffrey Fletcher
• Renee Forte
• Marco Francia
• Michael Fumiatti
• Michael Fumiatti (2)
• Osvaldo Garcia, Marlena Ofiara & Jake Wright
• William Gargone
• William Gargone (2)
• William Gargone & Mike Torre
• Derek Gartner
• Derek Gartner & Ryan Macuirzynski
• Tom Glynn & Matt Williams
• Jon Haddad & Daniela Rodriguez
• Michael Haines
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer (2)
• Dan Hartnett
• Ray Hassett
• Robert Hayden
• Patricia Helliger
• Robin Higgins
• Ronnell Higgins
• William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
• Derek Huelsman
• Racheal Inconiglios
• Juan Ingles
• Bleck Joseph and Marco Correa
• Shayna Kendall
• Shayna Kendall (2)
• Paul Kenney
• Hilda Kilpatrick
• Herb Johnson
• John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
• Jillian Knox
• Peter Krause
• Peter Krause (2)
• Amanda Leyda
• Rob Levy
• Kyle Listro & Joseph Perrotti
• Anthony Maio
• Dana Martin
• Reggie McGlotten
• Steve McMorris
• Juan Monzon
• Monique Moore and David Santiago
• Matt Myers
• Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
• Tiffany Ortiz
• Doug Pearse and Brian Jackson
• Chris Perrone
• Joseph Perrotti
• Joseph Perrotti & Gregory Dash
• Ron Perry
• Joe Pettola
• Diego Quintero and Elvin Rivera
• Ryan Przybylski
• Stephanie Redding
• Tony Reyes
• David Rivera
• Luis & David Rivera
• Luis Rivera (2)
• Salvador Rodriguez
• Salvador Rodriguez (2)
• Brett Runlett
• David Runlett
• Betsy Segui & Manmeet Colon
• Allen Smith
• Marcus Tavares
• Martin Tchakirides
• David Totino
• Stephan Torquati
• Gene Trotman Jr.
* Elisa Tuozzoli
• Kelly Turner
• Lars Vallin (& Xander)
• Dave Vega & Rafael Ramirez
• Earl Reed
• Daophet Sangxayarath & Jessee Buccaro
• Jason Santiago
• Herb Sharp
• Matt Stevens and Jocelyn Lavandier
• Jessica Stone
• Jessica Stone & Mike DeFonzo
• Arpad Tolnay
• Mike Torre & Ray Saracco
• John Velleca
• Manuella Vensel
• Holly Wasilewski
• Holly Wasilewski (2)
• Alan Wenk
• Stephanija VanWilgen
• Donald White, Brandon Way, & David Santiago
• Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
• Matt Williams
• Michael Wuchek
• Michael Wuchek (2)
• David Zannelli
• Cailtin Zerella
• Caitlin Zerella (2)
• Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
• David Zaweski