Month: February 2020

Murphy-Blumenthal Excited About Gun Changes

WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) joined bicameral legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.-13) to greatly enhance the ability of law enforcement to investigate and solve gun crimes, crackdown on gun trafficking and negligent gun dealers, and allow researchers—for the first time—to study gun violence and its impact on communities across the country.  The Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act would require the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to collect, preserve and disclose gun records and gun tracing data.

The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

 

“The Republican “hear no evil, see no evil” approach to gun violence data and research is just plain stupid,” said Sen. Blumenthal. “We know there’s a problem – communities wrecked by gun violence and more than one hundred deaths every day is proof of that – but we can’t fully develop evidence-based solutions when the data is hidden or even destroyed. Our bill is pretty basic: law enforcement agencies shouldn’t be forced to hide or destroy critical information about gun violence that could help them better keep our communities safe.”

Since 2003, Republicans have restricted the ability of the ATF and FBI to collect, preserve and make public a range of gun records and data by attaching so called “Tiahrt Amendments” to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) yearly funding bill.  The Menendez-Lee legislation would repeal the following Tiahrt provisions:

  • Ending the prohibition on the ATF from releasing firearm trace data for use by cities, states, researchers, litigants and members of the public;

 

  • Ending the requirement for the FBI to destroy all approved gun purchaser records within 24 hours of approval; 

  • Ending the provision that makes it extremely difficult for ATF to retrieve firearms from prohibited persons who are mistakenly sold guns or from gun owners who become ineligible to possess guns;  

  • Ending the prohibition on ATF requiring gun dealers to submit their inventories to law enforcement;  (Gun dealer inventories facilitate enforcement of the federal law requiring dealers to report the loss or theft of firearms and help law enforcement oversee the more than 50,000 firearms dealers nationwide.  According to a 2008 analysis by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, more than 30,000 guns in the inventories of firearms dealers were unaccounted for in 2007.)

  • Ending the prohibition on public disclosure of data on multiple handgun sales, as well as gun sales information dealers are required to keep that may be required to be reported to the U.S. Attorney General for determining the disposition of one or more firearms in the course of a bona fide criminal investigation.

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Bridgeport New: Boyhunt After Pursuit

2020-02-14@11:50am–#Bridgeport CT– Police are looking for two young teens who stole a car.  They led police on a very short pursuit in the Madison/Capitol and Federal Street area.  They turned down Federal Street and were blocked in when they bailed on foot.  They are running through backyards in the area trying to elude police.  There is a manhunt in the area for them.

 

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Valentine Murder

Police UPDATE: This morning February 14, 2020 at 0903hrs, the Bridgeport Emergncy Communication Center (ECC) received a call from a male party indicating that a person just had a verbal altercation with himself and brandish a weapon in the vicinity of Artic and Jane Streets. That male party then proceeded to follow the individual with the weapon. While police were in route to this call (vicinity of Artic Street), a ShotSpotter activation was received in the ECC at 0909hrs regarding shots fired in the 800th block of Kossuth St. Upon arrival at 0910hrs the BPD came upon a male party critically wounded in the street and declared the incident an Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. The male party was transported d to BPT Hospital by AMR where the party had succumb to his injuries at 0953hrs. The BPD has confirmed this as the City’s 3rd homicide of the year. The victim’s identity is being held pending notification of his next of kin. This remains an open investigation. The Bridgeport Police are asking if anyone has information regarding this crime please contact the Bridgeport Police by calling 203-576-TIPS.

Police UPDATE: A call came into the Bridgeport Emergency Communications Center regarding a party possibly shot in the road at 0910hrs in the 800th block of Kossuth Street. BPD responded to find a male party that was in fact shot. BPD confirmed a homicide at 0926hrs. BPD is still processing the scene and interviewing any witnesses. Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Bridgeport Police at 203-576-TIPS.

2020-02-14@9:14am–#Bridgeport CT– There was a fatal shooting at Jane in Arctic Street. The victim was declared dead at 9:28 AM. A dispute between two men, shots fired. Police are investigating.

Westport Police Department Investigates Overnight Motor Vehicle Burglaries and Stolen Vehicle

#Westport, CT– During the overnight/early morning hours of Monday February 10, 2020, several Westport neighborhoods were again visited by what is presumed to be a group of suspects traveling by car seeking to burglarize unlocked vehicles. As of this writing, reports of this nature were received from locations off of Greens Farms Road on both the east and west sides of town, as well as additional reports from the Old Mill Beach area. Also reported in the overnight hours was the theft of a vehicle from the Compo Beach area. This stolen vehicle had been left unlocked with the keys inside of it. As is typically the case, it is anticipated that more of these types of reports will be received as the day progresses, and/or that many of these incidents in which nothing was taken will go unreported to police.

 

We ask that you please let these incidents serve as a reminder that vehicle break-ins and vehicle thefts continue to occur in ours and neighboring communities at great frequency; especially in the overnight hours. In the majority of Westport cases of vehicles being entered which resulted in thefts of goods from within, the doors were left unlocked. In almost all Westport cases of vehicles being stolen, keys were left inside of an unlocked vehicle. The vast majority of these suspects do not wish to take the time to attempt to force entry into a vehicle. This is especially true in the overnight hours, when doing so could create a significant amount of noise that would draw the unwanted attention of otherwise sleeping neighborhoods. When encountering locked vehicles, these suspects almost always simply move on to the next possible target. We therefore strongly implore our residents not to fall victim to these types of crimes.

 

Preventative measures taken by the community coupled with the vigilance of our officers is the key to safeguarding our neighborhoods from being victimized. With that, we ask that you please always lock your car and bring your keys inside. Please remember to take valuables out of your car for the night, such as purses, wallets and electronics and to never leave these items out in plain view within; even if the vehicle is locked. It is also good practice to keep outside lights on and motion lights activated. Lock your residence and arm the security system if your home is equipped with one. Again, the sum of all these preventative measures have a great deterrent effect on the occurrence of these types of crimes. We also ask that you please notify the police department if it appears that your vehicle was entered or if you should observe anything suspicious in your neighborhood. No one knows your neighborhood better than you do, and the information you provide is always vital to our crime prevention efforts.

 

Anyone with additional information relative to this investigation is asked to contact the Westport Police Department Detective Bureau at (203) 341-6080.

 

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Stolen Box Truck

2020-02-13@11:30AMish– #Fairfield CT– A box truck that was stolen out of New York was located on I-95 northbound by state police near exit 18.  The pursuit continued to exit 21, Mill Plain Road.  The truck then attempted to get back on I-95 southbound but struck a guardrail on the on-ramp rolling the truck over.  State police had their K-9 with them who then took a bite out of crime.  The on-ramp was closed until 12:50pm but is now reopened.

 

Westport News: Kings Highway Bridge Roadwork

Westport, CT – Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich announced that the first phase of work on the Kings Highway Bridge over Willow Brook will be commencing on or about February 24.  This first phase will involve the installation of a 36-inch diameter sleeve underneath the existing bridge to accommodate a 24-inch waterline.  This is an important first step in the effort to replace the existing bridge later on in 2020.

 

In order to facilitate the work, it will be necessary to close Kings Highway at the actual bridge location.  All residents and businesses that are adjacent to the bridge on either side will be able to access their properties during construction, but the bridge itself will be closed.  It is anticipated that the first phase of the work will take up to two months.  The actual bridge replacement work is expected to begin in early June of 2020.

 

The Kings Highway Bridge was originally constructed in the early 1900s.  In August of 2016, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) conducted a bridge inspection and found it to be in critical condition.  The CT DOT de-rated the allowable load for crossing the bridge to 4 tons, and directed the Town to prepare a replacement design. The bridge is eligible for State funding under the State Local Bridge program, which provides 50% reimbursement of costs.

 

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Bridgeport News: Health Department Closes Variety Store

2020-02-11–#Bridgeport CT–Bridgeport Police assisted the Bridgeport Department of Public Health at J & J Variety Store, located at 3145 Main Street for the insurance of a to Bridgeport City Chapter 8.20.330 Ordinance violation, “No grocery store, bakery, meat market or other establishment selling food or any other substances used or intended to be used for human consumption off the premises shall be maintained in the city unless licensed by the Director of Health and Social Services.

The establishment was operating without Bridgeport Health Department Food Establishment and Tobacco licenses. After the closure of the establishment, it was observed opened again hours later, thus prompting PD and DPH to respond again. On Wednesday the Bridgeport Police and Department of Public Health responded to the location being opened and thus closed again.No further information at this time.

 

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