Thursday, July 26, 2007

POLICE CHIEF AGREES WITH SENNETT, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MUST BE PRIORITY


Domestic violence cases are dangerous for police

Middletown – Domestic violence cases can be the most dangerous type of calls to which police officers respond, said Middletown Police Chief Matthew Byrne.

Police Officer Christopher Dolan was shot while he and a partner arrived to a domestic violence call on Tuesday afternoon.

Byrne said they are a very dangerous type of call. “This is one of the reasons we send two police officers at a minimum to every domestic violence call,” he said. “Any call can be dangerous; it could be a noise complaint, it could be any kind of unknown disturbance, a vehicle stop; nothing is safe in law enforcement. This is just a reminder of that.”

Chief Byrne three years ago mandated that all officers must wear bullet proof vests when working on the streets.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Chief has it right because he is talking about law enforcement. The Mayor has it wrong because he is more concerned with politics than public safety.

Makes you realize how truly excellent a candidate Jonathan Sennett is, and what a terrific District Attorney he will make.

Anonymous said...

Blaber what do you write your own comments?

Anonymous said...

Hey, I wrote that comment and I'm not Blaber. Which anonymous are you, anyway?

Shawn (Formisano Live) Mon 10:30pm KPA#23 said...

Good post, Jeremy. Having met Jon Sennett, I was very impressed by his demeanor, and look forward to supporting him for D.A.

-Shawn

Anonymous said...

Domestic violence is and has been a very dangerous call for all police. As much as I agree with Sennett that more emphasis be put on this, I am concerned that 1) our government funded mental health institutions are ineffective, under-funded and the employees overworked. Sennet intends to rely on this group, without making sure they and their policies are adequate. Disaester waiting to happen. 2) Much domestic violence is directly linked to alcohol and substance abuse. As many of us are aware, this is not easily remedied. Those who abuse spouses and children have commited a crime. They belong in jail, the same as others who assualt or rape. 3) Most illegal guns are linked to the drug trade. Carrying a gun or using a gun without a proper permit should result in jail time, regardless.

The same Middletown Chief welcomed and supports Neighborhood Watch groups and the Guardian Angels. He and his dept work closely with citizens without spin or manipulation. Something missing in Kingston at present.

Mr. Sennett appears to be sincere and dedicated. His priorities concern me for the safety of our police officers and our citizens. Mental Health is not the forst line of defense, nor should it be.

Anonymous said...

While agreeing with the Middletown chief that domestic violence cases are dangerous for police and an important concern, I fail to see that the Chief has endorsed Sennet's assertion that it is the most important issue to be addressed. Certainly it can be documented that many domestic violence cases are the result of drug and alcohol use, not to mention the high percentage of other crimes caused by drug use and the drug trade. At any rate Middletown is indeed having it's share of bad times, the Chief is, I am sure, trying to placate the politicians and "community activists" who want something done, even if they don't exactly know what and so you get the Guardian Angels, another group of mostly older people who will accomplish absolutely nothing but grab headlines, and the politicians can say they are doing everything they can. Talk about spin.Whats missing in Kingston is a pair of wire cutters to cut the wire which supplies every blowhard and bag of wind in this area a platform to express their own distorted,narrow minded agenda driven view of the world.