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Crime Happens


by turfgrrl


January 15th, 2008 · 304 Comments

You would think after reading the comments here, that Norwalk has a huge crime problem. Please, Norwalk is a safe city. We are lucky that it is, and people who seem bent on rattling off every imaginable conspiracy concerning Norwalk police and run-away crime in Norwalk are missing the big picture. Crime happens. Today, in Greenwich:

GREENWICH - Investigators are treating the death of man found lying on a private road Monday morning as a homicide, police said.

The victim, an adult male with a dark complexion, had been shot, police said. No suspects have been located.

A resident reported the body lying on Sterling Road at 11:25 a.m., police said. A preliminary investigation indicates the crime was not random and the victim was specifically targeted, police said.

Greenwich investigators are working with the Stamford State’s Attorney’s Office and the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

So now is Greenwich a hotbed of criminal activity? Are we going to see calls for more police in Greenwich? Crimes will continue to happen. Police will continue to investigate and prosecute criminals. That’s how its supposed to work.

Tags: In the News

304 Responses so far ↓ “Crime Happens”


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  • 1 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 9:04 am

    While I normally agree with most of what you say Turf, this time I have to say I do not. The murder in Greenwich and the crimes in Norwalk are not the same. The police said they don’t believe that man was murdered where they found him. Although it is just as tragig and one more person has had to die from violence this young man was murdered in someones front yard at a party that shouldn’t have been allowed and yes we do need more police and yes we do need more parent involvement and yes we do need more public involvement and yes we should be outraged. When our police department has to send the entire squad to one residence 3 times in one night, I too want to know where the parents were.

  • 2 Al Raymond // Jan 15, 2008 at 9:37 am

    Yes crime does happen, Norwalk police do a great job but I feel we can do better. I have asked for more community policing and I feel that if we had that on Friday night that this killing would not have happened. If an officer were patroling that area during his or her 8 hour shift they would have noticed something.If you have a job and you go to the same area everyday you will get to know the area and learn what is uniqe about that area and can tell there is something wrong. If we need more patrol officers than we as a commuity should make sure they are put in place.I do understand that you can`t be in every place but this is just one more thing we can do. Also if an officer calls for back up the suppervisors respond to all back up calls. Maybe this is being done now I don`t know but clearly we need to do more and if there is anything I can do Mr Mayor or Mr Rilling please feel free to ask me or anyone in Norwalk for HELP.

  • 3 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Excellent post Al, and this should be the mindset of all citizens. Let’s not label this murder as something that happened because of gangs and then walk away as if it didn’t happen, lets take this as a wake up call for all of us to do something. We need to let the Mayor and the Police know that we are here to help. We don’t want to see our kids bodies strewn across front lawns like so much trash. Its time we do something. It won’t bring this young man back but it may save another.

  • 4 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:18 am

    Thank you for posting this!

    This couldn’t be truer and as a Norwalk resident I couldn’t agree with you more. I am sick of neighboring towns pointing out the negatives in Norwalk to make their little lives seem shinier and positively perfect while really sweeping all of their crime, and mishaps under the rug.

  • 5 anon // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:28 am

    Turfgrrl is right, I’ve lived in Fairfield, Bridgeport and Norwalk. Norwalk is the safest city I’ve experienced. My car was broken into 3 times in Fairfield, once in Bridgeport. None in Norwalk. I have friends who’ve had apartments broken into in Shelton and Bridgeport.

  • 6 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:35 am

    Its not all about crime. What about the unhappiness of some of our neighbors.

    Another Greenwich man was found with a self inflicted Gun shot wound found in a Farmington hotel room : 01/09/08

    Murder and then suicide on Mayweed Road Fairfield: 01/07/08

    Fairfield man hit by train committed suicide: 01/10/08 and Westport’s newspaper “Westport Now” has a headline that reads: East Norwalk Fatality Disrupts Westport Train Service.

    You have to love the writers at Westport Now for that headline.

  • 7 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:53 am

    lets not forget the two brothers who had to come from Shelton to board up there shop the other morning at 3. We forget the criime that people mention is generally what they are told about but once in while do we hear about all the crime hats off to The Hour when you think all is lost in hearing whats actually going on at night in Norwalk. Its good not complete for one night of terror but we as readers will take what we can at this point to sell our thoughts on crime.

    NORWALK — Two patrons of
    the El Charro bar on North
    Main Street got into a fight
    shortly after it closed Sunday
    morning, with one receiving a
    minor cut on his arm.
    A patrol officer riding by the
    establishment noticed the pair
    scuffling in the parking lot and
    stopped to break it up.
    Police said Francisco Diaz,
    39, of Paradiso Street used the
    corkscrew on a sommelier’s
    tool he was carrying to cut his
    opponent. Diaz was charged
    with second-degree criminal
    mischief, second-degree
    assault and breach of peace.
    The mischief charge was for
    pushing the other man against
    the window of a business next
    door to the bar, causing it to
    break.
    Diaz was held in lieu of
    $10,000 bond and was taken to
    Superior Court in Norwalk
    Monday morning for arraignment.
    Police said the other man
    walked away while they were
    arresting Diaz, so they were
    unable to provide him medical
    assistance.

    what was missing was the baseball bat at this last incident, and the fight at Fiesta that took an ambulance and many cruisers to respond to as well at the same time as above.

  • 8 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 11:07 am

    I trust the comments to start this thread was a red herring to see if anyone is reading this blog. Any politician or want to be politician would see the pulse of the city is not a safe pulse. Anyone reading outside the box would say Norwalk at least this week needs some good pr and thats what we are getting what we deserve as we let the city crash and burn without leadership.

    this was todays pr bites for Norwalk

    A jury heard dramatic testimony of
    drugs, guns and gushing blood Monday
    in the first day of the murder trial of the
    23-year-old Bridgeporter accused of
    killing a Stamford man in 2005 in the
    Colonial Village public housing complex in Norwalk

    then we had

    murder scene Monday at the start of the
    trial of Norwalker Anthony Rogers,
    accused of shooting a homeless man in
    the head.
    Rogers, 25, allegedly shot 48-year-old
    Jamie Cubillos on April 9, 2005 on
    Larsen Street, after mistaking him for
    someone else.
    Showing photos of the victim with a
    trail of sprayed blood from his head to a
    jury of 11 men and four women (three of
    the total will be alternate jurors) and
    Stamford Superior Court Judge
    Richard F. Comerford Jr., Assistant
    State’s Attorney James Bernardi called
    six witnesses to testify in the first day of
    what is expected to be a long and
    detailed trial.

    then we read

    Police sources said Hunt was a member
    of the Money Green Mobsters, a
    local gang based at the Meadow Gardens
    public housing complex. They are
    investigating whether a fight on nearby
    Linden Street the night before Hunt was
    discovered was gang-related.

    Dan Sullivan, guidance chairman at
    the school, said Hunt was once a student
    there. On Monday, other students
    attended individual and group counseling,
    and they felt anger, sadness and
    confusion.
    “It’s really important that you can
    frame this for them,” Sullivan said. “A
    lot of kids maybe haven’t been through
    this before and so they have a conflict of
    different feelings and emotions, and
    they just don’t know what to do with it.”
    Sullivan’s department will continue
    helping students as needed in days to
    come

    yes we as a city need to simply blame the death on something but to trash a kid before his body is cold and not yet in the ground sounds like we simply playing damage control.

    we not to recently ended up with a murder victims car being burned in Norwalk , word on the street from surrounding areas is go to Norwalk to commit crime chances are they are so busy you will never get caught. yes there is more to comparing numbers why don’t you compare thoughts and facts.

    nice try in damage control but we the public is smarter than the average bear I thinks.

  • 9 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 11:28 am

    All of Norwalk’s problems can be traced back to the ridiculous number of low-incoming / public housing units, rental units and duplexes.

    As the movie field of dreams says: If you build it, he will come.

    If you build low-incoming / public housing units, rental units and duplexes the problems of a poor uneducated society will come.

  • 10 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 11:37 am

    suggest to take this to DC and make a splash at the mayors meeting and you get a press conferance today at 2 in the mayors office. Too bad we didn’t have it once the kids are out of school they too read the crap the city is trying to sell. I’m sure Travis won’t be there passing out autographs anyone forget our last tragedy not Greenwich or Fairfeild or Westport has what Norwalk has. Bring up those crimes add both police and town and city officials were all over the news media giving statements observe their leadership nothing like Norwalk. We had our news delivered to us by the Ct post how lame was that? where were our own news papers having lunch with the mayor it seemed no one came out and said anything but then to surfice and point fingers at the victim after cablevision did many takes on wha happened and showed a mother devastated is what I don’t want my city to look like.Shut out of the police station was more the message that was sent by cablevision while they went to other cities and got live officials talking about their crime while the trail was still warm that in itself said any leads Norwalk residents had to pass along is not needed a very piss poor message for any law enforcemnet gathering service investigating crime.

    Suppose they will ask for help today and tell us the residents need to get involved so let the deflection begin as we watch the next performace of a administration in trouble and has no intention of hiring at least what we need for police to make us all feel safer.

    The ones saying they are safe are not living in the inner city they probably are not even going thru those parts of town as a rule during the day never at night.Please don’t treat this as nothing transpired in Norwalk like other cities that shows arogants towards the rest of the city.This blog does not reflect most of the effected people of crime in Norwalk they simply don’t have access to a computer to see how out of touch some others are.

  • 11 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    #9-what a biased statement! Where would you have these people live? should we get rid of the housing projects and send those who grew up here packing? Then maybe we can speckle the properties with Mcmansions. Well it is a fool who lives under a rock. In case you didn’t see the new reports on channel 12, it wasn’t just kids from low-incoming / public housing units, rental units and duplexes and poor uneducated society , it was kids from all over town. Some priveledged, some not. Apparently you are out of tune with today’s kids. It doesn’t matter what walk of life they come from. Those kids at that party, if youtook the time to look, were not unkempt ghetto kids, they were from both High Schools and some from out of town. being naive and uninformed does excuse your remarks. Once again, there is a young man dead and a family grieving and in case you hadn’t noticed, his aunt and other family members do read this blog. I am sure they are not pleased with your assumption that they are beneath you.

  • 12 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 12:49 pm

    people who seem bent on rattling off every imaginable conspiracy concerning Norwalk police and run-away crime in Norwalk are missing the big picture

    reporting facts and what others have written is not a conspiracy its showing what the trend is when it comes to how the city in addressing issues.

    I would say for the most part the officers in the street and backed by most of us. someone did ask for the officers who drove one of the victims to the hospital on a scoop and screw to be thanked it was not obvious by reports that even transpired.

    Your going to find opposition to most of what one tries to do in the city in the realm of whats best. To deny a long standing complaint we need help is denying quality of life to most of the residents who don’t have a voice is not right.

    To use The hour as a vehicle of defense and then to see what was reported on the blog true on most accounts leaves now ligit argument we need to do a better job as a city . To defelct the focus on blaming the Norwalk police shows desperate measures to gain support for something that isn’t there.

    We all need to support the police but the problms are not drawn to the officers its showing what the problems are for the officers.

    language barrier seems to be a problem between the residents, victims and emergency personal including our 911 operators not deflecting statements bent on making credibility non existance give us a break we live this stuff you certainly don’t.

    I realize when suggestions are made and the other side of the coin is written and hurts a project or thought its frustrating to those who want. I would suggest before coming out and wanting something in anyones corner the average person look at the whole picture and admit two sides themselves. Thats makes it hard to argue who is right but leaves the impression a open mind exists.One more pro than con is always a way to argue change or no change at all.

    Norwalk is a safe city. it is what it is to want a safer city is what a crime in itself?

    Now we are going to hear gangs like they just appeared out of nowhere just wait till you hear the next round of bullsh@t to be spewed in defense of the city. I trust this concept of a safe city will surfice today at city hall having it at the police station would of been poor judgement its near the heart of the crime in the city along with the disgust of the measures taken after the last murder.

    we want more police what is it that you want is the question, the job pays well in Norwlalk so geting officers should not be the problem correct?

    what did we have out of the last class of recruits 1 out of 30 Bridgeport received what 20 new officers?

    How many men retired within the last 3 months? How mnay more seasoned police officers have we lost or are losing compared to the new recruits coming aboard?

    conspiracy my @$$ concern is more the word

    safety for our officers with what the firepower is out there has been another we have been lucky thought

  • 13 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 1:49 pm

    another news flash Flax Hill park has gang voilence and taggers its the invisible crime we need to deny please don’t tell anyone.park is considered safe if you have a flak jacket and a police patrol.

  • 14 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    We cant handle the crime we have now, wait till the city gets bigger through our planned over development.

  • 15 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    DANBURY - A Common Council “committee of the whole” is scheduled to meet Monday at 7 p.m. in City Hall to learn more about a proposal to enroll city police in a program operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
    Opponents of the program worry it will lead to racial profiling and erode relations between local police and the city’s large immigrant population.

    Proponents of the partnership said the additional training will give Danbury police more tools to investigate crimes that have an angle involving illegal immigration.

    Danbury Police Chief Al Baker, who will be making a presentation at Monday’s meeting, sat down with The News-Times Wednesday to answer questions about the proposal

    you look to what is happening in other cities and towns look for what they are doing to clean up their crime and illegals. We all want the same thing but to discredit others to save what a sinking ship?

    Now cablevision after days of boadcasting this crime shows a police number and a partnership to solve this crime with the police . maybe the conspiracy woke some people up. Who cares this crime happened last week and we are just now seeing cooperation from our officials no one said officers don’t try an hang a tag on someone with street savy and respect for all our men and woman on the fromt line.

    So posting what Danburty is doing is going to attract what kind of comment they have more illegals? enough we are all on the same team act like it and suggest like what has been going on than knee jerk reactions defending the fort it serves no one.

    what about our council? lessons taught are lessons learned i think the saying is.

    This was from the Times by the way.

  • 16 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    Fighting Crime in the Neighborhoods

    By JACK CAVANAUGH
    Published: May 29, 1994
    PEOPLE keep coming into the new office structure by the South Norwalk railroad station asking for information about Metro-North trains. Obligingly, Lieut. John Suchy, or whoever else happens to be inside, tries to respond

    In Norwalk, the grant for the first year totals $805,000, including $350,000 to cover the cost of building the center at the train station and $400,000 to pay for 10 additional officers, who will replace the police veterans assigned to the new substation. The allocation during the second year will be slightly more than half that total, mainly because no construction will be involved

    this all still exists correct?

    this was then how many staff at the station now?

  • 17 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 2:58 pm

    “Public safety has been one of my priorities since I became Mayor in 2003,” said Mayor John M. Fabrizi. “My team and I have been working hard to try and clean up each and every neighborhood in the City. Community policing has been a priority for me, as well as that of our Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood. I am extremely pleased that this money is being earmarked for the Hollow section of Bridgeport. It will be put to very good use.”

    when is the last time you saw news releases like this in Norwalk? I’m sure the point has been made to most reading the blog we need leadership and a team effort. Isn’t the eletronic age great when one can deliver a very decent case for the people by using facts and history to run on.

    I’m sure we will hear crackdown on parties, ever have kids they find another way around it. Lets start looking at what we can do better like you pointed out other cities have the same problem but offer far more suggestions and employ many more state and federal agencies than Norwalk has ever done.Lets think outside the box than to simply blame it on kids. Police reports and court reports are full of middle aged people who influence, buy booze and bring drugs in from the outside they are the ones we are arresting but is that effective or do we need to do more.

    Think about it what is the average age of arrests in the our city 16 17 and 18 27 to 40 ?

    I’m sure some of what is written gets second thought maybe the facts are needed maybe we simply need the news to report so others can decide on their own and not depend on heresay.

  • 18 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    do you realize you have given us more to look for in a murder monday in Greenwich than Norwalk has given us on a murder a couple of days ago here? Your proving the conspiracy thing yourself by your introduction.Was that the point? Did Greenwich find the murder victims car in Norwalk like the last Stamford murder last week?

    That still linked Norwalk to Stamford murder in the sense of a crime scene.

    The decision to modify says a lot.

    what about Fax Hill park got any comments on that?

    you have failed to tie in other events in Norwalk that night and weekend that shows a problem with crime. Lets give the officers credit but what about the city and what transpired in downtown Sono its no good to turn a blind eye on the blog we have that at city hall.

    Still whats the point? we are getting third party this year from the mayor what about the rest of the stats from the beginning of the year I’m sure the rest of us would like to see how busy our officers have been. What about the overtime budget is there anything left? How many stabbings how many armed robberies and where whats the problem in the public knowing what going on in the city?

  • 19 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 5:39 pm

    Help the readers understand the mindset here, we should be happy the shooting that just took place tonight was in Stamford?

  • 20 Miserable #34 // Jan 15, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    The crime statistics for Norwalk are no better no worse than any city of this size. While each crime that results in violence or homicide is a great tragedy, the attempts to blow it out of proportion on this blog is shameful.

    Why isn’t anyone contributing positive ideas to reach out to the families involved?

  • 21 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:04 pm

    you could start #34 you have the floor.Maybe the point was what are we doing about our own crime instead of comparing it to others.Blow it out of proportion for what the last two years? It goes back beyond the blogs conception.We all like to blame former mayors how far back has the increase of crime go and did we then have the same police force or more?

    You think the Advocate reached out to the families I didn’t see anything from Travis on his brother getting killed in front of his mother. Its not like he wasn’t one able to find and approach for a sit down.We didn’t see our city leaders sit down with any of the last families and simply talk in a kind hearted sincere way and begin a healing process did you?

    Did you think today listening to a curfew was the best constructive way to stem voilence in the city if you had you should of supported that idea I do its a start.

    Banning house parties is a great idea but where most of the murders that took place in South Norwalk were on the street and not at a party so whats the suggestions there?

    Addressing the problems from the last murder is not a very good persepective for shootings or stabbings. Lets think about the ones on the washington street bridge, or the concord or grove streets, Roodner court or Meadow Gardens shooting tell me I’m wrong I’ll listen but if I’m wrong tell me a better way to explain this and suggest a positive idea as you just suggested.

    Now there is a rumor that fax Hill park has had its access limited by the parks and rec because of gang related activities and tagging how do you feel about that true or not its like you said an obvious way to ruin a blog.

    Someone gave credit to one person for whats its worth shamimg the rest of the readers into listening is a stretch I doubt if anyone one person has that power out here on in the city to produce that kind of anger over death and crime do you?

    Your right lets start with positive ideas is hiring more police an good idea , or employing outside help like Danbury is trying to do is a step backwards?

    Attack one they defend suggest one will accept I’ll accept any ideas if that blowing it out of proportion so be it.But you are correct to reach out it seems to be better than attacking a city.

  • 22 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 11:06 pm

    Someone is making some sense out here some of those deaths and stabbings did not happen at a house party.We also should be reaching out to the families.

  • 23 Anonymous // Jan 16, 2008 at 8:51 am

    #21-I kind of lost you there but also kind of got the gist. You are correct in saying not all the murders happened at house party’s and you are correct in saying that the problem is bigger than this. We don’t always hear about the stabbings and the muggings because the papers don’t seem to believe they are sensational enough. Only when this city wakes up to the fact that guns and knives are the weapon of choice amoungst our kids and that you and/or a family member could be minding your own business and be in the the line of fire will anyone realize that we have a problem. I think the emphasis has been on this latest murder because many of us knew Tykwan and he was was a very young man with a bright future. This in no way takes away from the trgedy of Larry Paulk, he too was a wonderful man who only tried to keep his family safe and to teach others right and wrong. What happened to any information on Steve Williams? That seems to have gone by the wayside. Now, you see? When you put a name to these tragedies it gives a whole new perspective of the grieving families and loss of a good person. Perhaps the newspapers should print pictures of these people who have been murdered with pictures of those that have been left to grieve, then maybe we will all take notice and see they have families just like the rest of us and they have been taken away needlessly because we as citizens are not stepping up to the plate and giving our kids a new direction. So sorry Mr. Greenpeace, I think I took a rant away from you!

  • 24 Anonymous // Jan 16, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    DECATUR, Ga. - Two off-duty DeKalb County police officers were killed early Wednesday in what appeared to be an ambush at an apartment complex in what residents described as a high-crime neighborhood, police said.

    The two officers, working as security guards at the complex, were investigating a suspicious person at the complex when shots rang out, DeKalb County Police Chief Terrell Bolton told The Associated Press.

    your right someone in Norwalk is missing the picture.I’m afraid of what one might say about this post considering the absurd comments so far. But it couldn’t happen in Norwalk because we don’t have handguns or housing complexes with crime.

    this was not to add to a conspiracy but to remind others we don’t want this here in Norwalk police included.

  • 25 Anonymous // Jan 16, 2008 at 12:49 pm

    City
    Population 2000: 18,147
    Square miles: 4.18
    as you can see its smaller than Norwalk so lets not here how big Decatur is compared to us.

  • 26 Anonymous // Jan 17, 2008 at 10:36 am

    I can see parenting and curfews can be a start but what prevents the above posts? Good police work and possibly more patrolmen ? Its only suggestion I’m not looking to be insulted.
    That murder in Greenwich was not from a house party kids or out of control parents it was said today its more like a hit an dumping of a body how on earth does that compare to Norwalk problems . Some people are not happy with city halls image others are not happy about the crime maybe we can improve both situations seems others are trying please support them getting nasty does not work for anyones cause.

  • 27 Anonymous // Jan 17, 2008 at 10:49 am

    In the section “Curfews” There are suggestions. Maybe if we stop pointing fingers and work together we can as a community make some headway.
    Had anyone known about the vigil last night I am sure more people would have participated. Getting the message out is key to public involvement.

  • 28 Anonymous // Jan 17, 2008 at 11:00 am

    news blackout? maybe not but did you think about all the people from the other murders and stabbings that are very disturbed about the way city hall has acted in the past, maybe it was for the best the family after being beat up by the Advocate simply wanted it to be for the kid and not a protest with conflict. I thought the same thing but know others who would like the chance to tell the mayor off and last night would not of been the time.I would of gone in support of the family and paid my respects but who knows how many wouldn’t of.

    The Advocate was able to hurt the family with out of line comments maybe the news blackout was for a reason so they didn’t come The Hour was runing a close second with the same insensitive reports. Cablevision from the start worked with the family and the residents even when they themselves were shunned by the mayor and police dept.

  • 29 Anonymous // Jan 17, 2008 at 11:09 am

    What the newspapers did to this young man was disgusting. Who the hell cares about his father? This man did not have influence over this kid. He’s been gone since 1993, tthis young man was 3yrs old. So why make such a sensational story about an unfortunate incident where another one of our kids has lost his life to violence and stupidity on the part of those who were supposed to be adults. I would have gone to show support for the family as well. I would also have gone to show support of community action to eliminate violence in our town.

  • 30 Anonymous // Jan 17, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    It was the best the Advocate could deliver and yes why would I want them at a service for my child after what they didn’t say that reflected the good he was about. Dear God what have we done to deserve negative comments about all youth and all parents it takes only a few was always what I was taught. What about the hard working mothers and fine community leaders working in the housing and NEON agencies that have been doing this work right along is it so hard for the city to reconize them as well and ask for solutions . WE have been asking for help at the police and mayors office for years.Shame on all the finger pointing it started when someone asked why they didn’t find the child in the parking lot of a crime scene sooner ?

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