The group Mothers United Against Violence (MUAV) is speaking out against armed citizen patrols set to begin this weekend in the North End of Hartford.
A local faith leader who asked for the patrols said he wants direct action now to address violence in the city.
Members of MUAV are calling to action. The group is opposed to a plan from a local faith leader that would have armed volunteers patrol certain areas of Hartford.
“That’s not an answer. Our people are already traumatized enough and that we have more PTSD in our communities than ever before,” Reverend Henry Brown with MUAV said.
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The armed patrols were requested by Archbishop Dexter Burke from Walk in the Light Church of God after shootings in the area of Garden Street last month.
Reverend Brown said peaceful resolutions and addressing the root causes of violence, including things like poverty, are the answer, not armed civilian patrols.
“This is not a vigilante era. This is not the wild, wild West. This is an over traumatized community that needs solutions other than somebody else going out into the streets creating more mayhem with guns,” he said.
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Activist Cornell Lewis, who’s the head of the armed patrols, is pushing back on the vigilante label saying the volunteers are trained, legal gun owners.
“We’re disciplined and we’ve been doing this for a number of years,” Lewis said.
He said armed patrols have occurred in the past at the request of neighbors with no major issues.
“The people on Garden Street and in the North End and in most of Hartford know of our work and they’ve seen the success,” Lewis said.
Archbishop Burke said he’s tired of seeing vigils and wants to take direct action, saying in a statement: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
Lewis said people in certain areas of Hartford want to see their presence.
“The people came to us looking for help. They came to us looking for hope and we’re going to provide that,” he said.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampulam has previously said he disagrees with the armed patrols as well.
“Adding more guns into the midst of trauma. Into the midst of pain in our communities is just going to lead to more deaths,” Arulampulam said.
The armed patrols are set to begin this Saturday at an event that’s being hosted on Garden Street.
