Roughly fifty shootings in Hartford since the start of September have city officials scrambling for root causes and solutions. During a virtual "town hall" meeting on Saturday, Mayor Luke Bronin called the situation "highly unusual," saying he believes several pandemic-related factors are sparking the trouble.
"We do believe that the spike... is related to the profound disruption to every aspect of life that has been caused by the coronavirus pandemic," said Bronin, "We know, of course, there have been so many jobs lost, there is such high anxiety, there is such trauma, there is a disruption to both livelihoods and socialization, and the emotional toll... I think does put people on edge, I think, in a way that is highly unusual."
The mayor says coronavirus-related changes in the criminal justice system have also contributed. He cites closed courthouses and early inmate releases due to the threat posed by COVID-19 in prisons.
Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody says his department is trying to balance an effective response to the run of shootings with "the community's desire to not 'over-police.'"
Both Mayor Bronin and Chief Thody take issue with last week's controversial statement from the police union, which claimed police officers are "taking a step back" and not being proactive due to restrictions issued in the state's new Police Accountability Act.
"I don't think it's accurate," Bronin said, "because I think that what you see is a department that's working really hard to get guns off the streets and to make arrests in the case of auto theft and not shy away from dangerous situations to try to keep our community safe... I think that statement did a disservice to the men and women who are doing that work."
Stolen autos have been used in many of the recent shootings, according to Chief Thody: "We try to intercept these stolen vehicles before they're used as, literally, a vehicle for a violent crime." 15 troopers from the Connecticut State Police have been assigned to help in that effort.
A replay of the mayor's "town hall" is posted here: