Norwalk: Manhunt Underway, Police Officer Shot Friday Morning

It`s a sad day when any life is taken. Our prays go out to the family of this officer.PEACE BE WITH US ALL.

“The last time a police officer was killed as a direct result of criminal activity was 36 years ago. On July 9, 1971, Sgt. Nicholas Fera was gunned down while attempting to arrest two armed robbery suspects who had just held up a bank.”
The Advocate

Rumor has it that Rell will be in attendance with Rilling and Moccia with an army of law enforcement for the news briefing in time for the noon cycle.

Wonder if Moccia still agrees that a handgun ban isn’t needed. Maybe one of our intrepid local investigative journalists will have the cojones to ask him at the news briefing.

#8-Ask Kennesaw, Georgia how many of their officers have been killed–by law you MUST own a firearm. Pull your head out of the sand and WAKE UP !!!

KENNESAW, Ga – Several Kennesaw officials attribute a drop in crime in the city over the past two decades to a law that requires residents to have a gun in the house.

In 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring heads of households to own at least one firearm with ammunition.

The ordinance states the gun law is needed to “protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants.”

Then-councilman J.O. Stephenson said after the ordinance was passed, everyone “went crazy.”

“People all over the country said there would be shootings in the street and violence in homes,” he said. “Of course, that wasn’t the case.”

In fact, according to Stephenson, it caused the crime rate in the city to plunge.

Kennesaw Historical Society president Robert Jones said following the law’s passage, the crime rate dropped 89 percent in the city, compared to the modest 10 percent drop statewide.

Its time for Moccia to resign. He has done enough damage to this city lets cut our losses pay him and Harry and be done with this.This page could be filled with examples why but today we mourn tommorrow lets clean house.These two guys havn’t got a clue it was just obvious by the press conference the questions were heading in the wrong direction. The news crews are asking the public in South Norwalk what they think.

Crime has not stopped we now have what others say would never happen the state has come in to do the investigation and other cities and towns are helping out.Why didn’t they all come when the last murder at Roodner court went down?

Enough of all this hire some more cops is what has been said for months.

What we want is message sent how else would you send it airmail? they are tired and old and out of touch with the streets they are hired to protect.

Mayor just said we don’t have a gang problem troopers and an agents last night said we do.Their only visiting why is there information better than ours?

They just said the public shouldn’t be worried would you walk today on tonight to the local corner store near Lowe, Woodward, So main or Richards and feel safe?

There are some who can’t go to shaws stop and Shop or Shop rite they only have the corner store that whats distances the quality of life in Norwalk, places some would never think of going in their own city from fear or disgust.Paints a picture doesn’t it?

Please everyone, can we stop this arguing. This isn’t going to do anything. I knew Matt, and his family. He was a great Officer, and an unbelievable person. This isn’t the time to start pointing fingers at the Mayor or the Chief. The problem is much larger, and it’s going to take all of us working together to fix it. I know that I for one, will not take this easily. I am going to help whoever I can, and however I can to start fixing our problems.

Andrew, you are correct in that pointing fingers and bickering is not going to change what has happend but the community working together will be a first step to the healing process. This should be a time when we put aside our petty bickering and mourn as a community for someone who chose to dedicate his life to serving the people of Norwalk. Whatever our thoughts are on why this happened or how we can prevent it in the future can wait for another day. Today is about Matt and the loss to his family and our city.

Right now the state police is running the show at the crime scene simply ask then to stay for while most of us feel safe today with them here.That would be a start feeling safe that is.

#19, I’ve been around the entire time. It saddens me everytime a life is stolen here in Norwalk. Petty politics is brought up everytime something tragic happens in our city. “Blame Moccia, Blame Knopp, Blame Rilling…” the list goes on and on. I’ve been going to group meetings with neighborhoods to see what I can do to help, and I plan on continuing to do so, in the hopes that we can make our city safer.

Sean why don’t you add to your list the other resident an adult non gang member who was shot and killed in front of his mother and family around the holiday’s.

we have substantial threads here on ct blog wondering when this was going to happen. Countless times we all came out asking for help for our friends that are Norwalk officers. praising them for the work they do in and out of uniform.The city has been in crisis for months please don’t act like we for the first time realized we have a problem.If someone in my family died in the line of service under these conditions I would want to see fire in the bellies of the beast and not a passive way to mourn my realtive. By the way I am a victim of in the line twice but this isn’t about me.

Where was the support for the officers a couple of months ago?

The loss we suffer grows my friend and to think my kids laid in their beds for three hours while two helicopters flew within yards sometimes feet of their windows with bright lights on looking for suspects.

That was enough to effect them for life there just kids, so what do i say now your use to it so next time you won’t be scared.

What would you suggest we do Sean do you know what we have for crime in South Norwalk as it is?

a peace officer has lost his life, yes and trained law enforcement members of the Norwalk police have lost a brother we have lost a friend one that use to wave to our kids and make us feel safe.

He served his country as a marine skirted danger all over the world and found the most dangerous job was in Norwalk what does that tell you Sean?

If the police chief can’t do the job replace him its simple.

WTNH online coverage here: http://www.wtnh.com/global/story.asp?s=8049853

Ironic that the photo on the page shows a leftover Moccia campaign sign. Probably not the kind of exposure “Law n’ Order” Dick likes, though…

This is tragic news. I am sorry and greatly saddened by Officer Matthew Morrelli’s death. We need more officers working together. When I go to NYC I see groups of officers on the streets. Why does Norwalk send officers out in one man cars? Learn from the practice and don’t repeat it. There are sections of Norwalk that are well known for violence, that is why the police station was moved. The hot spots should have two man cars at all times.

This is going to be tough, we must remember it takes a village.

We must apprehend the offenders immediately.

Attention all parents, did your child arrive home around 12:30 am , if so, please do the right thing, bring your child in to speak with investigators. Its about doing the right thing.

#31 you have pointed out our need where do we go from here?

I’m open to suggestions there were people missing from the last news conference.People we need to hear from the jobs they took didn’t include the luxury of bailing out on the officers and residents after such a sad day that left a huge loss.Yes the questions are getting harder they should accountability is at a all time high in Norwalk.

See what happens when you have out of town reporters they ask questions tough ones and they don’t care what bridges they burn. They are here to cover a story for the residents.

please don’t pencil me in for ass i lost a friend as well, I still have others in the city that are working tonight. I worry about them as well.

I’m glad the police spokesman spoke about crime and its spectrum maybe if we heard this before more officers would be a priority.We are now going into the weekend and for those who live in the less fortunate which is half the city we are bracing for another weekend of crime.

Ever wonder about the friends of kids who shot the man at Roodner court for smoking dope in the corridor the very next day the police was back removing them again and again repeatedly since then for smoking dope in the very same complex.

leadership should be based on daily committment where was it this afternoon?

I will pay extra taxes as well!!! We need to clean up this city.

Time to knockdown the projects… they cause too much trouble.

This is not about what side of the aisle you are on. This is not about race or gender. This is about a police officer, whose job is to protect the public and who was shot doing his job. This totally brought tears to my eyes. We must support the Mayor and the Police Department in their efforts to find out what happened. We must come together as a community. This is very serious.

Please put your differences aside.

In the 10-year span of 1997 through 2006, 562 officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty.(FBI statistics) That is about one each week, somewhere in the country. Another 65 a year die in line-of-duty accidents. Police officers know these numbers, understand the risks, and rush into dangers others rush away from.
The first bullet proof vests in Norwalk were bought by individual officers with some help from a fund raising campaign run by Harry Rilling, long before he was chief.
Are they ever paid enough.??

We need to raise taxes, improve the police department AND improve the schools. Lots of stable families are choosing not to buy in Norwalk because of a perception that the schools are poor and the city unsafe. As a relatively new resident to Norwalk but not to the area, it appears this City is run like its a village not a large diverse urban area. Shootings are rampant (at least 4 reports in the past two weeks not including the horrible incident last night), every time there’s a big rain, the same roads flood, the school test scores are often abysmal, the roads need to be paved. Taxes are only bad when they don’t get results. Let’s stop this infantile approach that somehow we can simply pare down this budget and hold the line on this other expenditure. The reality is that good City services (this is a City) cost money. In the end a proactive policy will allow us to be safer, send our kids to public school, drive to work on roads that won’t flatten your tire and enjoy the wonderful surroundings that Norwalk provides.

Only a fool would suggest raising taxes…The issues is to use the manpower we now have correctly….By raising taxes all we would do is give them more money to waste…If we did this maybe we could lower taxes…And how do you do this you ask..The answer is simple get a mayor and police chief that do there jobs and hold there people accountable for doing there job…So in closing I say lets cut the taxes

#12 – You’re blaming this on Moccia?

Are you serious? Did you have a period of amnesia from 2002-2006? Or are you Alex Knopp in diguise?

The gang problem in this city is a result of the fact that gang violence festered for 4 years under Knopp. It was under control until he came into office. Doesn’t anyone else remember his assertions that these weren’t gangs – they were “cliques”. Well “clique, clique” went the gun…

Moccia had this mess dropped in his lap by the lame-duck mayor who preceeded him. And for those who are going to bash me as partisan, I am not. I think that Zullo was a good mayor and Collins had some worthy ideas. Esposito was good for some but not all of his term. But Knopp created this specific problem (and the god-awful power lines) and in my book he ranks as the worst mayor in decades.

Oh # 14 you seem like Moccia in Disguise…I really can not comment on your post because its just all WRONG…..But lets assume for just one second that you had any truth in your post–which you do not…Good all boy DICK is in his second term and has done nothing to fix it…Instead he has made it worse…See DICK is one of these guys that just say all is well, all is well as the world is falling in around him… The reason for this is he don’t have a clue what to do.And as far as Knoop goes DICK could not shine his shoes…THAT how sad DICK is.

#23 you say “Its hard to run a dept when all you do is damage control isn�t it?” this is very true but unfortunately it is also self inflicted and Rilling is not running the department….He’s just collecting another check…But who I blame for this is the Mayor as he resigned the contract…Its time we look at the city charter and investigate weather it allows for articles of impeachment for the mayor…this is the only way we can save this town as I am sure he will not do the right thing and resign on his own….Then we can get a new police chief and he or she can weed threw the many bad apples in the police department and start to rebuild…I am afraid to think what will happen of DICK is allowed to work his full term

28 Aunt Bertha I don’t know how to break the news to you thus ain’t NYC…It will become what NYC used to be if Rilling and Dick stay in office…NYC is more safe these days than Norwalk…Thanks harry and DICK