2019-11-26 #Bridgeport CT–A viewer sent in this video of a suspect being taken into custody on Willow Street. Police confirmed that 3 suspicious males with guns on Radel Street fled when police approached them. Police were able to apprehend 2 of the three suspects in the Willow Street area. Hall Street School did go into lock in/out as a result.
Terel Hendrick was charged with operating an unregistered motor vehicle, improper marker, theft of license plates, no minimum motor vehicle insurance, reckless driving, engaging police in pursuit, operating with out a drivers license and interfering/resisting arrest.
Kai Lewis was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit.
2019-11-26@2:28pm–#Bridgeport CT– Another youth was shot at but not hit on Ogden Street Extension and Ogden Street in a drive-by shooting. Police are blocking off the area and investigating.
#Westport CT–Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season, a time of the year characterized by frequent travel to bring us into the company of family and loved ones. Although known as a time of celebration, sadly this season also annually brings a significant increase in DUI related arrests and crashes.
Drunk driving is still the number one cause of death on our roadways, yet it is estimated that adults drink too much and drive about 121 million times per year; approximately 300,000 incidences of drunk driving each day. If you drive while impaired, you could be arrested, or worse, be involved in a traffic crash that causes serious injury or death. In Connecticut and every other state, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher, yet despite that one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 50 minutes in the United States in the year 2018. It was in that year that sadly we saw 10,511 people tragically killed in drunk driving crashes across our country.
This holiday season the Westport Police Department, in partnership with law enforcement agencies across our state, continue to monitor our roadways for impaired drivers. Being a responsible driver is simple, if you are drinking please do not drive; help to ensure a safe and happy holiday season for all.
2019-11-22@12:00PMish–#Trumbull CT– Trumbull Police arrested a woman for leaving an infant unattended in a motor vehicle while she was shopping and eating food at a store inside the Hawley Lane Mall. Angela Ruggiero, age 38 of Beacon Falls, was charged with Risk of Injury to a Minor, and Interfering with an Officer after she struggled with officers who were called for a trespassing complaint at the store. Ruggiero’s 13-month-old niece was located inside of a 2017 Nissan Sentra that was parked in the mall parking lot, where she had been left unattended for nearly an hour.
Just after 12:00 noon, employees of the Five Below store reported that Ruggiero appeared to be intoxicated and was eating food while shopping in the store. She refused to leave when employees approached her, which eventually led to her arrest. A variety of merchandise was opened and discarded in the store by Ruggiero.
When officers arrived and attempted to speak with her, Ruggiero was uncooperative and had trouble locating her identification. She referred to her niece who was waiting to return home, although Ruggiero initially reported that she was alone. Officers located numerous bottles of alcohol, which presented concern for her ability to drive away. Further investigation revealed the child who had been left alone in the locked car for an extended period of time.
Ruggiero was held on a $5,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on November 29th.
2019-11-26am–#Bridgeport CT– A citizen called police for two males with guns and masks on Radel Street (off Stratford Avenue near Bruce Street). As police approached the suspects took off at a high rate of speed and was driving recklessly down Bishop Avenue towards Boston Avenue. They fled on East Avenue after crashing according to radio reports(this whole report is from police radio reports). Police asked the schools in the area to go into lock in/out. Police have one person in custody in the backyard on Willow Street. One still at large.
#Hartford, CT — Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general today in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of public servants who have been denied promised federal student loan debt forgiveness.
The U.S. Department of Education has committed pervasive errors in administering the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. As a result, less than one percent of all applicants have received relief. In their brief, Attorney General Tong and the coalition stress the importance of the PSLF programs and ask the Court to closely review borrowers’ specific allegations.
In July, the American Federation of Teachers sued Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education for its gross mismanagement of the PSLF program. The defendants have since sought a sweeping order of dismissal from the court. In the amicus brief, the state attorneys general outline how state residents have been harmed, and urge the court to allow this important case to proceed.
“Teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public servants have been diligently doing their jobs and paying down their loans, while the U.S. Department of Education has done nothing but create useless red tape. Less than one percent of Public Service Loan Forgiveness applicants have received promised relief. That is a stunning failure on the part of the federal government. This bureaucratic disaster is causing severe hardships for public servants who followed all the rules and planned their finances accordingly. Their case is strong, and they deserve the chance to make their case in court,” said Attorney General William Tong.
The PSLF program allows borrowers who pay down their loans while working for 10 years in a qualifying public service job, such as teachers, law enforcement officers, and members of the military, to have the remainder of their federal direct student loans forgiven. This program gives public servants the chance to pass up higher, private sector salaries and still pay off their student debt. According to Department of Education reports, more than one million Americans intend to apply for PSLF. Nearly two-thirds of these people had annual salaries of less than $50,000.
However, the Department of Education has denied relief to over 99 percent of applicants. The first PSLF borrowers became eligible for forgiveness in October 2017. Since then, 90,962 people have applied for loan discharge pursuant to PSLF, but only 845 people have received it.
Federal government reports admit that the Department of Education has made pervasive errors, including mistakes in record-keeping, providing inaccurate information to borrowers, steering borrowers to take actions that made them ineligible, and failing to explain why applications were denied.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein led the brief, along with attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced the Stop CO Poisoning Exposures (SCOPE) Act to help protect consumers from the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning associated with keyless ignition technology in vehicles. The bipartisan SCOPE Act requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to finalize a rule that vehicles automatically shut off after a period of time to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Because different vehicles emit carbon monoxide at different rates, this bill would authorize NHTSA to establish different periods after which a vehicle would have to shut off.
““This legislation will require NHTSA finally take action to protect American drivers from the fatal risk of carbon monoxide poisoning associated with keyless ignitions. Failure to act will have devastating consequences – a heartbreaking reality too many families have already suffered,” Blumenthal said.
“Many people inadvertently leave their vehicles with keyless ignition running, which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. This happened to Thomas and Ann MacKinnon of Bellevue, Nebraska, who tragically lost their lives. I worked with the MacKinnons’ daughter, Sharon Shore, to introduce the bipartisan SCOPE Act. This bill will prevent these senseless deaths and keep families safe,” said Fischer.
“NHTSA, our automobile safety cop on the beat, must ensure that novel transportation technologies help eradicate the auto safety challenges of the 20th century, not pose additional dangers in the 21st century. With deaths attributable to keyless ignitions mounting, it’s time for NHTSA to set safety standards to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning,” Markey said.
Keyless ignitions increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning with drivers inadvertently exiting the vehicle in park but not shutting down the vehicle. A vehicle left running in an attached garage can quickly fill living spaces with lethal levels of carbon monoxide. Keyless ignitions are now standard in over half of the 17 million new vehicles sold annually in the United States.
In May 2018, The New York Times reported that at least 28 deaths and 45 injuries since 2006 attributable to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by vehicles with keyless ignitions inadvertently left idling.
In 2011, NHTSA issued a draft ruleto address keyless ignition risks, but has not taken action since. Following The New York Times report, Blumenthal and Markey wrote NHSTA Deputy Administrator Heidi King demanding the agency finalize and implement its rule. The full text of the Blumenthal-Markey letter is available here.
While NHTSA has failed to finalize its rule, some auto manufacturers, including General Motors and Ford, have taken proactive steps to respond to these hazards, implementing additional safety features –auto shut-off systems to prevent CO poisoning. Absent a final rule, most automakers have not addressed the various risks posed by keyless ignition technology.
The SCOPE Act has been endorsed by: Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Reports, KidsAndCars.org, and Safety Research & Strategies.
“Many keyless ignition designs don’t have safety features found in vehicles with traditional keys allowing the engine to continue to run even when driver exits their vehicle with the key fob resulting in 43 known deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. Ford and GM began adding automatic engine shutdowns to some 2013 models to prevent the hazard, Toyota has committed to including it for 2020 models; but without legislation mandating a requirement, drivers can’t be guaranteed vehicles will have this important safety feature,” said Sean Kane, President of Safety Research & Strategies.
“Forgetting to turn off a keyless car parked inside a garage should not result in a death sentence caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. Requiring technology that automatically shuts off a car after it has idled for a certain amount of time is a commonsense solution to a well-known problem. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety commends Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Ed Markey (D-MA) for introducing the Stop CO Poisoning Exposures (SCOPE) Act. We urge Congress to take immediate action on this lifesaving legislation,” said Cathy Chase, President of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
The Westport Police Department Local Union #2080 and Police Benevolent Association will be hosting their annual Holiday Toy Drive, which provides toys for underprivileged children throughout Fairfield County and beyond. The program has been extremely successful in the past, allowing for thousands of toys to be distributed to children who otherwise would have none.
We ask for your continued support and generosity to help make this year’s drive as successful as in the past. By doing so, you will bring joy to so many children who often have none.
Westport Police Officers will accept new, unopened, and unwrapped toys, as well as cash donations, in the parking lot of ASF Sports & Outdoors, located at 1560 Post Road East, Westport, on the following Saturdays and Sundays: December 7th , 8th , 14th , and 15th between the hours of 9:00AM and 5:00PM.
In the case of inclement weather, please call the Westport Police Department at 203-341-6000 or check with the local news services. Should the weather not allow a trip to ASF on any one of those days, the donations can be brought to the Westport Police Department as soon as conditions allow.
Collection boxes will be set up November 22 nd through December 15th at the following locations: 18:56 2 Westport Police Department, 50 Jesup Road, 24 hours a day Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, during business hours of Mon-Fri 8:30AM-4:30PM ASF Sports & Outdoors, 1560 Post Road East, during store hours of Sundays 11AM-4:30PM, Mon/Tues/Weds/Fri 10AM-6PM, Thurs 10AM-7PM, Saturdays 10AM-5:30PM
Any questions can be directed to Det. Sgt. Jill Ruggiero at jruggiero@westportct.gov or 203-341-6017. We thank, in advance, all of our continually generous donors, look forward to seeing you all at ASF Sports & Outdoors, and wish you a happy, safe holiday season!
This press release has been made possible by BMW of Bridgeport:
2019-11-25@5:12pm–#Bridgeport CT–Police are investigating a robbery at Ellsworth and Fairfield Avenue. The woman was robbed of $250 she had to purchase a cellphone by 3 males all around the age of 17 years old, matching the description of a robbery a week ago.
