14,000 Jammed Club District Evening Of Cop Shoot-Out; Nightspots Join Call For Solution

Two days after a stray bullet from a shootout flew through the window of his downtown restaurant, Sherif Farouk called for more officers on Crown Street — and searched for a way to ​“control the bars.” Meanwhile, cops released new information about the shootout and about the size of the challenge they face policing the bar district.

Farouk is the general manager at Pacifico Restaurant at the corner of College and High Street. He spoke Monday evening, sitting at the bar where a bullet landed around 2 a.m. Sunday during a police-involved shootout just outside.

As police pieced together the details of the shooting, which left two people hospitalized, Farouk searched for answers to what he sees as escalating violence in the downtown’s clubbing district. Just this summer, there were four shootings or stabbings in the district alone. Farouk said every weekend is a replay: When 2 a.m. hits, hundreds of people pour into the streets, many of them drunk. Police are there, but they’re outnumbered.

“They can’t handle everything,” Farouk said. The crowds are ​“always a problem.”

About 15 to 20 customers were left inside Pacifico when gunfire started popping Sunday, he said. Customers dove to the floor for safety. A bullet came in the front window, deflected on a wooden ceiling beam, and ended up near the bar, Farouk said. Luckily, no one was hit. On Monday morning, he replaced the front window, which looks out onto the new Co-Op High School.

Farouk said the city needs to put more cops in the downtown bar district — ​“and the clubs need to be controlled.”

Farouk said he doesn’t know how it should be done, but he said someone needs to stem the crowds of drunk people pouring into the streets.

Officials including Mayor John DeStefano are expected to address the ​“how it should be done” at a press conference later Tuesday.

Frank Patrick, the general manager at the popular pizza restaurant and dance club BAR, had more specific ideas.

The police department ​“is doing a much better job than they ever had,” he said. ​“They’re just overwhelmed.”

“They’re grossly outnumbered,” Patrick said.

Indeed, downtown police District Manager Lt. Rebecca Sweeney reported that approximately 14,000 people were hanging out in and around the clubs int he Crown Street district Saturday night into Sunday morning. That included 2,000 clubgoers bused in from Quinnipiac University. The total number swelled to 15,000 if you include outlying areas of the district like Toad’s on York Street, she said.

Patrick’s solution: ​“I would definitely support them raising taxes for this district” to pay for more cops.

Mayor John DeStefano wants to do just that — he just needs approval from the state legislature to levy the extra tax.

DeStefano proposed asking bars and restaurants for a voluntary contribution to pay for a beefed-up bar detail downtown. That plan has been on ice for a month, after bars pushed back against it. Several bar owners complained that the payments were unfairly meted out.

Patrick said he supports the idea of paying more for safety. ​“They just have to find a fair way to do it,” he said.

Patrick suggested that police ​“have a good show of force” — show up in numbers this weekend to send a message to potential troublemakers. His message: ​“New Haven is a good place to come and have a good time, but it’s not the place to come and start a problem.”

Preliminary Conclusion: Cops’ Bullets Caused No Harm

The two men hospitalized after the shoot-out involving downtown clubgoers and the cops were hit by bullets fired by other citizens, not by the police, Chief Frank Limon reported Monday evening as he filled in some of the details of the harrowing incident.

The incident occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday as the Crown Street clubs let out. It sent patrons of the nearby restaurants and bars ducking for cover, and later sent a shiver of concern through people concerned about downtown in general.

The police have been conducting an extensive investigation since then, trying to piece together what happened.

They had to wait until one of two men hospitalized after the incident emerged from surgery before they could interview him.

After finally interviewing both shooting victims, as well as a witness to the shoot-out, police concluded that three police officers who fired bullets probably did not end up striking anybody, Limon said early Monday evening.

The incident the led to the shootout began when two groups of patrons got into a fight upon leaving a Crown Street club near the corner of College Street, according to Chief Limon. He said police still haven’t confirmed which club was involved.

The fight spilled out into College Street, by the Co-op High School.

The fight began with the crowd beating on, and someone shooting from close range at (and missing), a 19-year-old Frank Street man. Saturday was the man’s birthday. The dispute evolved into a brawl ​“between two factions,” according to a release issued by the city Monday evening.

Three officers on downtown bar detail— Kealyn Navikoff, Jason Jemiola, and Christopher Cacela — came upon the two groups involved in the melee, and saw shots fired.

One of the men involved then pointed at the cops and started firing, Limon said. The cops fired back.

“What we’re getting now is both these people were shot in the original altercation between the two groups” before the three officers arrived, Limon said. ​“Our investigation indicates that our officers didn’t hit any of the victims that were on the scene.”

The man who pointed the gun at cops fled. As of late Monday police still hadn’t tracked him down.

The two men hit went to the hospital for treatment. Their injuries are not life-threatening, Limon said. One, a 22-year-old Brewster Street man, was shot in the hand; the other, a 19-year-old Davenport Avenue man, was hit in the pelvis. Both had been involved in the fight, according to police.

Police recovered two guns at the scene.

As police comb through the evidence — including shell casings littered along College Street and on the sidewalk in front of the school — downtown residents, business owners, and visitors have been heatedly debating the incident’s significance. Is it the latest in a disturbing trend of downtown violence associated with the clubs? Should the city move clubs to a district on the outskirts of town, such as Long Wharf? Or are people making too much of isolated incidents? Follow the reader debate at the bottom of this story.

Chief Limon said the three officers involved in the incident, all of whom began serving on the force on Sept. 9, 2008, will be on leave and receive counseling for the ​“trauma” they experienced.

“When they’re ready to come back, they’ll come back,” he said.

At 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, College Street neighbor Michel Dias (at left in photo below) and her friend Elizabeth Arena (at right) were snapping pictures of the crime scene with their iPhones. Dias said she was in her apartment in the Taft building when the shooting started. It was about 1:50 a.m., she said. ​“I heard a barrage of gunshots.”

The first few shots were distinct, then it sounded like someone let loose with an automatic weapon, Dias said. She said she realized that multiple shooters were all firing at once. The shots didn’t last long, only about 15 seconds, Dias said.

Dias said she looked out her window and saw ​“a bunch of young kids” running up College, away from the gunfire. People who had been sitting outside the Anchor, Bespoke, and the Owl Shop jumped up and ran inside, pressing themselves against the walls, she said.

Cop cars showed up soon after, along with fire trucks, Dias said.