Armed citizen patrols could be coming to New Haven. The group that created similar patrols in Hartford is looking at training citizens in the Elm City.
“What we’re telling people is this. Legal armed carry is protected by the Constitution.”
Activist Cornell Lewis leads the Self Defense Brigade, a group training citizens to do armed neighborhood patrols. It began a few months ago in Hartford to address crime in the garden street area.
“It’s having a positive effect. The people in the South End, also contacted us and we were on Eliot Street,” Lewis said.
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Now, he says neighbors in New Haven are reaching out about starting their own armed citizen patrols. He says they had frustrations over car break-ins in housing complexes and criminal activity along stretches of Dixwell Avenue.
“I went up there and I looked around and it looks as if they have a few problems up there,” Lewis said.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker does not approve of having armed citizen patrols. He’s worried about potentially risky situations.
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“To have some group that is just out there that has not certified long-term training like our police officers do carrying guns is just not a good thing for our community,” he said.
Mayor Elicker stressed while there was still work to address gun violence in New Haven, police have made an impact.
“We've seen the number of non-fatal and fatal shootings go down pretty significantly. We're making progress,” he said.
The idea of armed patrols got mixed reaction from some residents.
“Sometimes the cops be too late and if the people are licensed to carry to protect their families, then they should be able to protect their families at all costs,” Charlie, of New Haven said.
“You’re just going to let people go on their own reconnaissance just because they have a permit and a weapon? No. It’ll get a lot worse before it gets better,” Kenny, of New Haven said.
Lewis says the people trained for armed patrols are not reckless and simply exercising their Second Amendment rights. He says he’s willing to meet with Mayor Elicker.
We reached out to the New Haven Police Department about the armed patrols.
The chief issued a statement saying, "Over the first five months of this year, we have seen the lowest violent crime numbers in over four years. Police officers are doing a great job, stopping violent crime, and also solving violent crime. We feel it is in everyone's best interest to leave armed patrols to the police. We certainly encourage everyone to be vigilant about their surroundings and take simple measures to keep themselves safe, including locking doors and windows, removing valuable items from cars, and calling the police if they see something suspicious."
