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Cops Promise Seniors Some TLC
By Sophie Sonnenfeld, New Haven Independent
Original article HERE
Upon returning home to the River Run apartment complex on a recent evening, WWII veteran Raphael “Ray’” Yockelson discovered a “muscular six-foot-five man’ sleeping on the lobby floor.
Yockelson wasn’t afraid, he said. “I’m 95. What do I have to be afraid of?”
Yockelson told the story over coffee Friday to a room full of fellow tenants of the Grand Avenue senior housing coplex and neighborhood cops.
The cops brought the coffee.
The occasion was a “Coffee With A Cop” event sponsored by the Fair Haven Management Team at the apartment complex on Friday.
While the lobby encounter didn’t scare Yockelson, the group did ask the police to help keep vagrants off the premises and to help them feel safer walking along the Grand Avenue commercial strip.
Former top Fair Haven cop Lt. David Zannelli, who now runs the internal affairs department, attended the event along with Acting Chief Otoniel Reyes, Fair Haven District Manager Lt.
Mark O’Neill and Fair Haven patrol officers Derek Werner, Matt Stevens, and Leonardo Soto, along with Democratic State Rep. Alphonse Paolillo Jr.
Thirty residents gathered around tables for two hours as the officers roamed around the room, warmly and attentively greeting each person and bringing them coffee and doughnuts from a side kitchen. Each cup was served in souvenir New Haven Police Department mugs.
Lt. Zannelli who has pushed for department transparency at his internal affairs post, said events like “Coffee With a Cop: can strengthen the relationship and trust between police and community members.
“Most situations where people meet officers are in times of crisis, so this is a good opportunity for folks to meet cops and internal affairs officers in a positive encounter,” he said.
Some residents voiced concern over infrequent fire drills. O’Neill promised to speak with the fire chief to address the matter.
Residents also have recently noticed that the parking lot becomes surprisingly crowded after hours once staff leave for the night. Along with expressing fears of illegal activity on the apartment premises at night, residents cited incidents of loitering, especially in the warmer weather.
With more officers on the way to join the department, the local district should have new officers available to do night walk-throughs, O’Neill and Zannelli responded.
Joe Miranda said he was brought up in Fair Haven, born just down the street from River Run Housing. He recounted his earliest memories attending Catholic school, and always felt safe. He said his confidence in Fair Haven’s safety was shaken in recent years with incidents such as when a Branford man seeking drugs was stabbed multiple times.
Resident Irene Bailey used to walk alone at night around Fair Haven and was never bothered. Now she has switched churches and won’t go out on the streets after dark, she said. “My son said not to walk around Grand Avenue at night — and he’s a recently retired policeman who worked in the area!”
Lt. O’Neill said he hopes that supplemental beat patrols, with officers walking around the property, will improve building security. “Nothing’s an easy fix, but a lot of positive change can come from more officer presence at the apartment complex,” he said.
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