Tuesday, September 18, 2012

After the Shooting off Warren Avenue


What seemed to begin as a typical Monday with a full schedule of meetings set for the morning with more in the afternoon changed with one phone call. During my second meeting of the day, an urgent note was delivered to me that a shooting had occurred in broad daylight on a main thoroughfare near a very busy restaurant.


As always, my first instinct was to call the Police Department to get the details of the incident and to make sure they had all the resources of the government they needed to investigate the incident and to bring the perpetrator(s) to justice.
 

Next I contacted School Superintendent David DeRuosi to ensure our schools were appropriately locked down until the Police Department gave the all-clear for students to be outside for lunch and recess. Superintendent DeRuosi handled the situation with the utmost diligence as did our school Principals and staff.
 

My office has been working judiciously with Police officials to release information to the community as it happens. To this end, my office issued an immediate statement to the City Council and local press and posted it to the City website and social media applications Facebook and Twitter.  Thanks to a superb effort of the Malden Police Department, a suspect was apprehended within minutes of the shooting. Upon the arrest, I conferred with members of the press to further assure residents and businesses that we will continue to work on ways to make Malden a safer community.
 

During a 2 ½ hour Executive Session meeting with the City Council last Tuesday night  we discussed new initiatives to provide more of a police presence around the City. The Council voted to add additional police officers to our ranks and I am truly grateful and appreciative of their unanimous support.


Next, I met with Chief Holland and the Executive Boards of both police unions on Wednesday night to discuss further initiatives to address the recent shootings. And last Friday night there was a coordinated K-9 Sweep across Malden involving a multitude of law enforcement agencies, including K-9 units from Everett, Chelsea, Medford, Revere, Saugus, Somerville and Winchester. Valuable support was also provided by the Massachusetts State Police, Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, Essex Sherriff’s Office and the Metro North Gang Task Force.


More K-9 Sweeps of Malden are planned in an effort to send a strong message that we will not tolerate violence in our community. We are also looking to work with Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone to create a model that would track the young adults that are at the root of the problem in Malden and pair them up with an organization that provides high-risk intervention services.


Thank you for hanging in there with us and please continue to let Police officials know at 781-322-1212 if you notice any suspicious activity. Together we will work to build a safer Malden.