There’s a new push by some in the Elm City to have armed patrols out on the streets as a means to address crime. But community activists and the New Haven mayor say it’s a bad idea.

Cornell Lewis runs the Self-Defense Brigade, which provides training for residents on how to protect themselves through martial arts and legally obtained weapons.

He says he’s recently been contacted by three New Haven residents who are looking to obtain training and take matters into their own hands. Of those three residents, one is from an apartment complex in Westville where there has recently been a string of car break-ins, according to Lewis.

“We have to meet with them and then we will lay out how we’re doing it here in Hartford, and then we will go through the steps. After that, they may have to modify what we’re doing to fit their situation.”

Lewis says dozens are involved in the organization, which currently has chapters in New London and Norwich. He says the he started the group because politicians were not doing enough to address gun violence.

“We’re not a bunch of rag-tag, crazy-eyed vigilantes running around. We have a right to carry our guns,” he said. “In the past, we used the same strategy in the North end (of Hartford) to run out two gangs.”

Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam told News 8 “community residents here in Hartford have roundly denounced this” and that he is working with other organizations such as the NAACP and Mothers United Against Violence to come up with alternative solutions.

New Haven mayor Justin Elicker also strongly opposes the idea of armed patrols in his city.

“It’s a bad idea and it’s not welcome and there’s a number of reasons for that. We need fewer guns on our street, not more,” he said.

Elicker says while there is more work to be done to prevent gun violence in the city, crime rates have dropped by 42% from 2023 to 2024.

Data shared with News 8 by the city shows the number of people shot this year is sitting at 25, compared to 38 at this time last year.

For homicides, there have been four compared to 11 at this time last year, and for the number of shots fired, 21 – as opposed to 27 in 2023.

Leonard Jahad with the Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention program, which provides programs to youth about crime intervention, also says guns are not the answer.

“We don’t need people out there taking things into their own hands. It’s proven in other places that it hasn’t worked – and it won’t work here in New Haven also,” Jahad told News 8.

But Dexter Burke, who is currently conducting armed patrols with the Self-Defense Brigade following a fatal shooting near his church on Garden Street in Hartford, says their operation is effective.

“Thanks be to God, we’ve had no crime on Garden Street, no serious shooting since then…so it is making progress,” he said.

Burke also said the group wears body cameras and shares pertinent information related to crime in the area with police. Hartford police tell News 8 they are not commenting at this time. News 8 also has not yet heard back from the New Haven Police Department.

As for Lewis, he says he will be meeting and training the residents in New Haven over the next week. Elicker says he wants these residents considering engaging in armed patrols to contact him to discuss alternative solutions to addressing gun violence. Lewis says he is willing to come to the table with the mayor.

Originally Posted By rigger7:
How can the public have confidence in a police force that has a shortage in manpower? Shortage in manpower translates to less cops on each shift which in turn means less coverage of the the city, it’s simple damn math. The other thing that comes to mind is is the overtime that each officer is most likely being asked to do, how effective is someone that is someone on a 16 hour shift and carrying a gun? The 16 hour shift is hypothetical on my part but I’ll bet I’m not far off the mark.

A group that planned to create armed citizen patrols in New Haven has backed down from the plan.

“We want to give them an opportunity and a chance to do that,” Dexter Burke, who leads the Self-Defense Brigade in Hartford and Walk in the Light Church of God. “We are reasonable men. We are not vigilantes. We are not opposed to the police department or the political leadership. We want to help solve the problems in the community.”

The group has a current patrol in Hartford.

The Self-Defense Brigade made the decision following a half-hour discussion on Tuesday. Instead, Burke said that there will be talks to start an unarmed block watch.

Police Chief Karl Jacobson and Mayor Justin Elicker had voiced their opposition to the group.

“If there’s a problem my door is open, come talk to us and we are going to be the police department this community wants,” Jacobson said.

Burke said there’s still work to be done.

“They are opposed to armed patrols but they are willing to sit down and have open dialogue for the interest of their people, we don’t see this in Hartford,” he said.

Cornell Lewis, who founded the group that provides training for the groups in Hartford, New London and Norwich, said the brigade’s success could help New Haven.

“We would be able to get information from people that trust us who might be opposed to saying the same information to police,” Lewis said. “We have to do things within the law, but we can push the envelope a little bit to get the job done.”

Jacobson stressed residents should not take matters into their own hands. Among his concerns a lack of use-of-force training among civilians.

“The armed brigade isn’t trained as well as officers,” Jacobson said. “It adds another person to the mix with a gun.”

While the department is currently down 70 officers, Jacobson said the city’s violent crime numbers are the lowest in five years. Both the chief and brigade leaders said those efforts and connecting with residents are key.

“We can’t police people unless they are willing to be policed by us, and I think a lot of that is us holding officers accountable but also us reaching out and being a community member with them and we discussed that,” Jacobson said.

New Haven has 16 new officers to increase walking beat patrols to help with public safety.