Month: December 2022

GOVERNOR LAMONT ACTIVATES SEVERE COLD WEATHER PROTOCOL FROM FRIDAY TO MONDAY

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that based on a weather forecast indicating that Connecticut may experience below-zero wind chills over the weekend, he will be activating the state’s severe cold weather protocol beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, December 23, 2022, and remaining in effect through 12:00 p.m. on Monday, December 26, 2022. This is the first time the protocol is being enacted during the 2022-2023 winter season.

The purpose of the protocol is to ensure that the most vulnerable populations receive protection from the severe cold conditions, which could be life threatening if exposed to the elements for extended periods of time. While enacted, a system is set up for state agencies and municipalities to coordinate with United Way 2-1-1 and Connecticut’s network of shelters to make sure that anyone in need can receive shelter from the outdoors, including transportation to shelters.

Anyone in need is urged to call 2-1-1 to get connected to these services. Safety measures have been enacted at shelters and warming centers throughout Connecticut to adhere to the needs of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have an interesting set of weather conditions coming to our area over the next several days, first with a storm on Friday during the daytime that has the potential for heavy rain and very strong wind gusts, and then that will be followed by plummeting temperatures that night and remaining throughout the Christmas weekend, particularly during the evening hours,” Governor Lamont said. “This is the first time this season that we will have a stretch of frigid temperatures this low, and we want to remind everyone that shelters are available throughout Connecticut. Anyone in need can call 2-1-1 to get connected to a nearby location, and they can even provide transportation if necessary.”

The following actions are implemented while the protocol is enacted:

  • The Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security activates its WebEOC communications network, which is an internet-based system that enables local, regional, and state emergency management officials and first responders to share up-to-date information about a variety of situations and conditions. The system is used to monitor capacity at shelters across the state, enabling 2-1-1 to act as a clearinghouse to assist in finding shelter space for those who need it. Local officials, working through WebEOC, can alert 2-1-1 and the state when they open temporary shelters or warming centers.
  • The Connecticut Department of Social Services, Connecticut Department of Housing, and Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services coordinate with 2-1-1 and the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, along with community-based providers, to provide transportation for people seeking shelter

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ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG URGES FCC TO CREATE ANTI-ROBOTEXT PROTECTIONS

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong supported the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to help cut down on unwanted text messages by requiring mobile wireless providers to block texts from invalid, unassigned, or unused numbers, and from numbers on a Do Not Originate (DNO) list.

Connecticut has helped lead the fight to reduce the number of robocalls that plague Americans. However, scammers are now shifting to using robotexts to run similar scams. Just like spam calls, spam texts can result in people losing millions of dollars through phishing texts, imposter scams, and links containing ransomware. In 2021, the FCC received more than 15,000 consumer complaints about unwanted texts and, in 2020, scammers stole more than $86 million through frauds perpetrated via scam text messages.

“Robotexts are emerging as yet another insidious avenue for scammers to steal millions of dollars from Americans. We have technology to identify and block robocallers, and we need those same protections applied to text messages. I fully support the FCC’s efforts,” said Attorney General Tong.

The coalition of 51 attorneys general support the FCC’s proposal to require mobile wireless providers to block unlawful text messages at the network level if they originate from fraudulent numbers. Further, the attorneys general are asking the FCC to continue pushing the wireless industry to develop call authentication technology for text messages so people can know if the texts they receive are from spoofed numbers and law enforcement can investigate where these texts are coming from.

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Bridgeport News: 4th Person Shot Today

Police said: “At 1813hrs the Bridgeport ECC received a call reporting a male party got punched in the face and a possible weapon displayed on East Avenue. On-scene Bridgeport Police reports indicate no firearm was displayed and a male party was struck in the face following a verbal altercation. Medics were not needed and refused by the male party.”

2022-12-18@6:12pm–#Bridgeport CT– Report of a person shot in the 300 block of East Avenue. If confirmed, that will be the 4th person shot today.

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Milford Homicide: A Statement From Chief Mello

A statement from Chief Mello:

Our initial review has revealed the following:

On November 14, 2022, Julie Minogue came to the police department to file a complaint against Ewen Dewitt for sending her over 200 text messages from November 12-14, 2022, violating the Protective Order that prohibited him from harassing her. Officer Knablin interviewed Julie, and he collected the evidence from her cell phone records that she later provided.

On Friday November 18, 2022, Officer Knablin completed an arrest warrant application for Ewen Dewitt, charging him with Violation of a Protective Order. Per policy, the arrest warrant application was reviewed by a supervisor, and both the supervisor and the officer believed that the arrest warrant application contained the

requisite Probable Cause to support the charge that the text messages sent by Mr. Dewitt violated the modified Protective Order that was issued on January 15, 2021. When court re-opened on November 21, 2022, the warrant application was submitted to the Ansonia/Milford State’s Attorney’s Office. That same day, the Assistant State’s Attorney denied the warrant and sent it back to Officer Knablin requesting additional

information be provided.

As per policy, Officer Knablin had an obligation to gather that information requested by the Assistant State’s Attorney and resubmit the arrest warrant application as soon as possible. A formal Internal Affairs Investigation has been initiated regarding the timeliness of his response. Officer Knablin has been placed on administrative

leave pending the outcome of the Internal Investigation into his actions.

On Friday, December 9, 2022, after consultation with the State’s Attorney, the arrest warrant application was transferred to a Detective and a new arrest warrant application was initially drafted. The final arrest warrant for Ewen Dewitt was completed and signed by the State’s Attorney’s Office on Thursday December 14th, charging Dewitt with Violation of a Protective Order and Harassment 2nd Degree for sending Julie Minogue over 200 text messages over a period of two days.

Several hours after the homicide occurred on December 6th, our officers located Ewen Dewitt hiding in a trailer in the City of West Haven and took him into custody. The investigation into the death of Julie Minogue is ongoing by our Detective Division and the State’s Attorney’s Office. Our efforts will be exhaustive to determine not just how this crime happened, but also what motivated Ewen Dewitt to commit this crime.

I am meeting with our state legislative delegation on Friday to discuss ways to enhance the Judicial GPS Press Release Monitoring Program for offenders of domestic violence, including expanding the criteria for their use. We are committed to working collaboratively with the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Judicial Department, Victim’s

Services, , and the Mental Health Community to further enhance our ability to protect victims of domestic violence.

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Bridgeport News: Overnight Shootings

On December 18, 2022, at approximately 2:35 am the Bridgeport Emergency Operations Center received reports of a shooting outside the La Sabrosura Restaurant located at 533/537 East Main Street.

Upon arrival, police officers discovered a victim traveling away from the area in a private vehicle. That victim, a 29-year-old Bridgeport woman, was suffering from an injury to her leg. The woman was quickly transported to an area hospital where she is listed in stable condition (non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg).

A second victim of the shooting arrived at an area hospital via private vehicle with an injury to his head. That victim, a 27-year-old Bridgeport man, was treated and released (non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the head – graze wound).

The Bridgeport Police Detective Bureau has responded and taken charge of the investigation.

This shooting appears to have occurred outside of the La Sabrosura Restaurant however, officers came upon a blood trail leading into the restaurant. This prompted officers to explore the possibility that more victims were still inside. Although no additional victims were identified, physical evidence related to this crime was observed inside the restaurant.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to contact the case officer, Detective John Knapp, at 203-581-5251 or utilize the Bridgeport Police tips line at 203 576-TIPS.

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