Mayor Helen Thomas enacted a state of emergency Thursday afternoon

[larrymeyer]

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2...1035444562.txt


DARBY BOROUGH — Officers arrested about a dozen people Thursday into Friday during the first night of the borough’s crackdown on gun crimes and new 9 p.m. curfew for children and adults.

“We made some curfew arrests, both adults and juveniles, and those who were arrested were cited and released,” Police Chief Robert Smythe said Friday night.

He noted that the night was otherwise quiet.

“We’ve had no incidents (of gunplay) in the last 30-some hours, and we’ll be back out (Friday night) under the same principles as (Thursday) night,” Smythe said.

Mayor Helen Thomas enacted a state of emergency Thursday afternoon after several days of shooting in the borough’s Third Ward. No one has been injured in the shootings, but several homes and buildings were shot at, and several still bear bullet holes as evidence.

Thomas did not return repeated calls requesting comment Friday night.

Smythe said no arrests were made in connection with the shootings, but officers were hoping to learn more about the perpetrators during their nightly patrols of the area.

“We’re getting some intelligence in regard to what’s been going on, but we haven’t been able to make any arrests as of yet,” he said.

Stepped-up police patrols are enforcing the 9 p.m. curfew on streets from the unit block of Main Street to Fifth Street, as well as along Greenway Avenue, Berbro Street, Darby Terrace and Fern Street. Thursday night, Smythe said that there have been at least three shootings in the area over the course of the last five nights. All of the shootings occurred between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., he said.

Any adult or juvenile found on the streets after curfew has been questioned by officers and asked to produce identification.

Officers are searching for several men in their teens or early 20s who have worn black or dark-blue clothing while carrying out the shootings. Smythe said he believes the shootings are related to drug trade in the area, and said that the shooters may come from outside the borough.

“Are they from Darby? Are they from Philadelphia? We don’t know,” Smythe said Thursday. “There’s been a good amount of violence in Southwest Philadelphia, which is just over the line from Darby. It’s possible these shooters are coming into Darby from Philadelphia.”

The area is not unfamiliar with street violence. Since late 2008, residents have reported occasionally hearing gunshots throughout the night. One shooting left bullet holes in the side of Frank’s Steak Shop at Second and Main streets.

Shop co-owner Yvonne Riccetti said she supports the enforcement of the curfew.

“Anything that keeps the kids off the streets and out of trouble is OK with me,” she said as she handled the lunch rush at the restaurant.

Employee Charlene Carter, who lives in the curfew area on Third Street, agreed, although she admits the restrictions are making it a bit harder for her to get around town.

“It’s a little bit of an inconvenience, but if that’s what it takes to get things straightened out, then we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” she said.

Outside Frank’s, streets in the Third Ward were bustling with activity as residents enjoyed an 80-degree late summer day. Nine hours before curfew was scheduled to begin, they made the most of their time outside. A group of teens gathered on a front porch on Second Street, and children on bikes pedaled down Greenway Avenue, past telephone poles festooned with signs warning residents of the state of emergency in bold red print.

Former Mayor Paula Brown is running against Thomas in November’s election. She has been a frequent critic of both Thomas and Smythe, maintaining that they and borough council have not been doing enough to keep residents informed about violence in the streets.

“Enacting the curfew was a smart move, and one that I tried to do four years ago,” she said. “To me, though, stopping adults and juveniles and running their IDs through police radio is a civil rights violation, and I’m suspicious of the timing, now that we’re just 60 days out from the (mayoral) election.”

This isn’t the first time Darby has enforced a curfew to try to quell violence in its neighborhoods. In June, the borough closed the unit block of North Third Street for 72 hours, allowing only residents and their guests into the perimeter, after its fourth shooting in eight months.

And it’s just the latest move in a borough still rocked by the early July shooting of 17-year-old Ollie Cloyd, who was gunned down in front of his Ninth Street home. Smythe said the investigation into Cloyd’s shooting remains open and active, and a $10,000 reward is still on the table for anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the shooter.

As with the Cloyd case, borough officials are pleading with the public for information on the latest round of shootings.

“If anyone sees anything that looks unusual to them, anything that’s out of the ordinary or suspicious, dial 911 right away,” he said Thursday, noting that officers would not respond directly to a caller’s residence in an effort to avoid criminal retaliation against those who report the crimes. “We’ve got a number of police officers out there, but there are more eyes in those houses. If we all work together, we can bring this situation to a safe end and get back to our normal, safe lives.”

[fingers80002]

So it begins.............

[dc dalton]

So what, these fucking mayors think they can declare an 'emergency' when they are in the mood? All to throw all the rules out the window?

Now I don't know the area or the crime BUT a mayor deciding she wants to call an emergency to invoke special powers sounds a bit out of fucking line to me!

This could become an UGLY pattern we have to watch and if it happens again I think someone needs to call these fuck-tard politicians out for trying it.


There HAS to be 'rules and regulations' for 'calling an emergency' someplace and if assholes like this mayor decide they can call them any time they want those rules need to be looked at!

[Emptymag]

I used to work with a few guys who said the police in their town used to point a baton at civilians and demand their papers...



...they lived in Russia at the time.

[Nic]

Originally Posted by Emptymag

I used to work with a few guys who said the police in their town used to point a baton at civilians and demand their papers...



...they lived in Russia at the time.

This sounds about the same.

[ByAnyMeans]

Originally Posted by Emptymag

I used to work with a few guys who said the police in their town used to point a baton at civilians and demand their papers...



...they lived in Russia at the time.

Exactly, were are we going as a country? Scary to say the least.

[fingers80002]

Originally Posted by ByAnyMeans

Exactly, were are we going as a country? Scary to say the least.

Wherever we allow it............

[soberbyker]

Originally Posted by dc dalton

So what, these fucking mayors think they can declare an 'emergency' when they are in the mood? All to throw all the rules out the window?

Now I don't know the area or the crime BUT a mayor deciding she wants to call an emergency to invoke special powers sounds a bit out of fucking line to me!

This could become an UGLY pattern we have to watch and if it happens again I think someone needs to call these fuck-tard politicians out for trying it.


There HAS to be 'rules and regulations' for 'calling an emergency' someplace and if assholes like this mayor decide they can call them any time they want those rules need to be looked at!

I do, I go thru it every day to get to work.

Darby Boro government is a joke. A little history. This town had a (Sgt.) cop who was caught on tape shaking down a 7-11 owner. Had a cop that would bust hookers but let them go for a little "service". Boro government had many fist fights among themselves at meetings over the years. This town used to be the starting location for an annual Toys For Tots motorcycle run. One year they decided to go Gestapo on the participants and made everyone go thru a cattle shoot to get to the staging area while checking helmets (still had the requirement at the time) inspection stickers and other things. The kids of DELCO suffered that year. The run has since moved to a more friendly town. A former mayor, or cop, can't remember which, parked their car on some railroad tracks because the Boro was mad at the RR for tying up traffic (freight trains)and it got hit by a train. The towns police chief is a gung ho type who is in charge of one of the counties SWAT teams. Darby does share a boarder with West Philly.

The list goes on. It's a bad area no question about it, on both sides.

.

[General Geoff]

A former mayor, or cop, can't remember which, parked their car on some railroad tracks because the Boro was mad at the RR for tying up traffic (freight trains)and it got hit by a train.

That's.. monumentally stupid.

[Eugene V. Debs]

I agree. So how many people want to OC with me after 9pm in Darby and invite the media along?