Saturday, March 19, 2011

Pat Erickson: 'Hire More Police Officers'

I had to call the New Milford Police Department as a result of a recent incident.  I saw a tremendous improvement and was very impressed by many of the Officers I met.  It's obvious that Shawn Boyne, our new Chief, is doing a great job and if given the proper support we can once again have a Police Department that is effective.

My daughter's pocketbook was stolen from, of all places, the Childrens' Room at New Milford Public Library! Hers was not the first to be stolen recently. For the first time in many years, I spent an entire day downtown and what I witnessed was very disturbing.  As a lifetime resident, our Town no longer feels like the safe little community that I grew up in.

As you are aware, there have been many robberies and an increase in drug problems. I talked to many people and they all said they do not feel safe in Town. What I believe to be the major problem is a shortage of police officers.  I am hoping that readers will encourage the Mayor, the Town Council and the Board iof Finance to add police into our budget.

I realize things are extremely tight financially but I believe that it is a matter of safety for our Town and the Officers who presently serve.  If we have only a maximum of 7 officers on a shift if someone is sick or going to court or on vacation our numbers go down. We are the largest Town in Connecticut and after seeing what I saw downtown yesterday I can stay silent no longer.

I ask that your readers go to Town and just watch with their own eyes to see what is going on. I then ask, would they feel safe letting their children go into Town alone? Would they feel safe leaving their grandchildren in the library?  I ask anyone who agrees to PLEASE  contact the Mayor at 860-355-6010 and request that more officers be hired as soon as possible. Thank you, Pat Erickson

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