“No Snitching” Code Confronted

Days after a manager was shot during a robbery at Burger King on Whalley Avenue, nearly 100 neighbors got together with police to tackle a difficult question: Why are people afraid to talk to police?

The meeting took place Thursday evening, four days after a 19-year-old Burger King manager was shot in the legs by two armed men at the fast food joint at 1329 Whalley Ave., in the Amity section of town. The perpetrators remain at large.

Upper Westville Alderwoman Angela Russell and police Sgt. Renee Forte, the neighborhood’s top cop, convened the meeting in the cafeteria of the Mauro-Sheridan School at 191 Fountain St. 

Neighbors and police discussed how to end a ​“no-snitching” code — and a distrust of police — that deters some people from calling the cops.

Some audience members said they are reluctant to call the police after being harassed and disrespected by officers in the past.

“People like myself tend to not want to call the police because if we call you, sometimes we get the harassment from you guys,” said one woman. ​“They need to know how to respect us as people, and respect our feelings and our values [and] what we have going on in our community — not take it and abuse their power of authority.”

Forte apologized. ​“Just like the people of the city of New Haven, there are some bad apples, but not everyone is bad,” she said.

“There are several officers that I’m sure you have dealt with who could have been a bit more respectful, a little bit more empathetic. If it matters to you, then it should always matter to us as officers,” said Forte. She also mentioned that there are outlets for people to report bad experiences with law enforcement, such as the Civilian Review Board and the internal affairs office. ​“We’re not aware of the officers because that officer isn’t going to be that way with us. We need to be aware not only with the problems in your community, but we need to be aware of the problems with other officers so that we can address it. I’m sure you’ve had a wonderful experience with somebody [from the department] — we want all of our officers to give you that same wonderful experience.”

One African-American woman shared experiences of alleged racial profiling by police. One time, as the landlord of the building, she called police to report criminal activity. When officers arrived, she said, they automatically walked up to a white person, assuming the person was the landlord. She also said that shortly after her husband got a new car, he was stopped twice by police, which she believes was because he was black.

“There are things that the police need to be aware of. Somebody needs to educate them a lot more in sensitivity and on how to work with people who are not of the same skin color they might be,” said the woman. If police treated people better, then neighbors would be more willing to share what they know about criminal activities in the area.

One man said a majority of people in the community are scared to tell police what they know about criminal activity because ​“it’s not like it used to be.”

“People nowadays say, ​‘I don’t want to get involved, I don’t want to be bothered. If it’s not happening to me, I don’t want to know who’s involved’,” he said.

Sgt. Robert Lawlor, Jr. said that has to be stopped.

“Just like the Burger King [incident], there’s somebody who knows who did that, and they’re not coming forward to tell us,” said Lawlor. ​“The police has to do a better job at things, but so does the community. We need to take a stand and say we’re not going to put up with this.”

One man stood up and said the problem is that people don’t want to be labeled as a ​“snitch.”

“I’ve heard the word ​‘snitch’ quite a bit, and I think a lot of people are confused about what exactly ​‘snitch’ means. It seems like these days, a snitch means if you see someone abusing an old lady on the street and you report it — but that makes you a whistleblower, not a snitch,” said the man, adding that he would rather be labeled a snitch than be scared to do the right thing. ​“I’d rather be a snitch than a chicken.”

People asked the panel if there are any trends found in crimes committed in the city. One man asked if most crimes are committed by juveniles. A woman asked if kids seem to be committing crimes out of boredom and suggested the formation of youth programs to help divert children from criminal activity.

“There is a large majority that is juvenile-related, but not all of it,” replied Lawlor. He added that some people — regardless of their age group — will do something they shouldn’t when they become ​“bored and antsy.”

Forte said that programs targeted at juveniles could potentially prevent children from growing up to be adult criminals.

“If we stop the crime at a younger level, we [will] hopefully stop the adult who’s addicted to drugs now, who as a child was involved in crime — they’ve just moved up,” said Forte. ​“It’s definitely a trend we can see, so if we know it’s starting with children and we start there, we might, in the future, help the whole gamut of things.”

Clifford Guy, district manager for the Burger King on Whalley Avenue, urged businesses in the area to ​“band together” to help make their businesses and employees safe.

“We should just come together,” said Guy. ​“It wouldn’t solve the problem, but it would help.”

Guy said he had just moved here from Georgia. Sunday, when the armed robbery took place, was his first day on the job.

One woman with a store renovation company, explained how she initially had reservations about the people in the neighborhood. Later, she said, she got to know them, and concluded that if people make an effort to get to know the people around them, it can help prevent them from becoming victims of crimes.

“Whether it’s across the street, next to you, or around the corner,” she said, ​“once you get to know the people in your community, it’s not as bad as it could have been.”

One man expressed concern about the city’s ShotSpotter gunshot location system and police response time. Shotspotter is a network of sensors that listen for the sounds of gunshots and relay that information to police.

“What’s the response time?” the man asked. ​“Five minutes later [after the crime has been committed], you hear the cars coming, but by that time, the [culprit] is already gone. The preference of the sensor is to pick it up [quickly] and get the response.”

Forte explained that once ShotSpotter picks up the gunshots, the message has to be processed through the 911 dispatch center before officers are sent to the scene.

“So there’s not going to be someone immediately,” said Forte, ​“but ShotSpotter is getting us there faster and more to the specific area.”

Forte said although the system is helpful, it is important that people from the community call in to report what they know because ​“if a sensor is down or if you’re just beyond our field of range, we need you to call as well because we won’t know that there are gunshots.”

“If the public isn’t participating in the policing, it’s not going to work,” said Lawlor. ​“We can be the best police force in the world and have four times as many people as we’re supposed to have, but it’s not going to work without the community.”

Alderwoman Russell said next month is violence prevention month. She encouraged anyone interested in putting together a community safety plan to speak with her after the meeting.

“It’s not me, it’s not the police department, it’s not one entity — it’s all of us, and it’s not just talking about it,” she said. ​“It takes everybody, it takes time, it takes talent, and it probably will take treasure. You get out of this what you put into it.”