Allan Appel Photo
Russell, at left, was joined with, among others, mayoral candidate Toni Harp, at right.
A newly created public safety commission. A manual of police tips, in print and on line, to frustrate robbers in stores and protect employees. And a standing community fund instantly available to aid victims of violence.
Those ideas emerged at a press conference Tuesday afternoon convened by Beaver Hills/Westville Alderwoman Angela Russell at the Burger King at Whalley and East Ramsdell, One of that restaurant’s managers was shot in the legs and badly injured in a robbery a month ago.
Russell with Assistant Chief Luiz Casanova.
Russell seized the occasion of the beginning of National Violence Prevention Month to gather police brass and local officers, mayoral candidate Toni Harp, and a few residents to announce her bundle of new public safety initiatives she calls “No Child Living in Fear.”
Tuesday’s announcement grew out of a meeting Russell convened immediately after the shooting, when she pledged to work to come up with a new set of public safety initiatives.
Russel said her initiative is not so much new, but bringing current community policing to a new level by energizing neighbors, local businesses, clergy, police, and media.
She said the commission, which she must propose to the Board of Aldermen, would keep the issue of violence more visible. District manager Renee Forte said the police are coordinating with Russell’s initiative. For example, they are preparing a checklist and guide so that business owners can avert robberies and should one occur, employees will have procedures and plans in place.
Richard Furlow, a member of Russell’s Ward 27 committee, agreed to go up and down Whalley Avenue assembling contact information from merchants.
Sgt. Forte, at left, said a “safety checklist” is coming for area businesses.
“I noticed that most [non-managerial] employees don’t have a plan for what to do in case of an emergency,” he said.
That means not only how to avert a robbery, but also, should one occur, to have an escape route prepared, and to have family contact information onsite.
Sgt. Robert Lawlor, Jr., the head of the police department’s robbery and burglary unit, said tips he provided to the city’s Radio Shack outlets were successful this spring after a rash of robbery attempts against that chain. Those tips included removing large, obscuring, advertising signs from windows, and having an escape route out the back always clear and open.
Those procedures would appear in the Russell’s proposed manual.
Russell said lots of this material is out there, both in New Haven and online from other towns. “I have a knack for coordinating, conveying, and pulling the pieces of the puzzle together,” she said.
She said the next step is a meeting for business owners, to be held at the area Denny’s, on Oct. 12 or 19.
Police officials said they have made progress in the investigation of the shooting at Burger King. They declined further comment.