14 Year Old Boy Victim of Latest Pottstown Shooting
POTTSTOWN, PA – Only two days after Pottstown Police Chief Mark Flanders attended the Neighborhood Watch Meeting and only four days after he and Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman reassured residents that we are “doing OK”, the sound of gunfire was heard once again in the downtown. This time in broad daylight on a beautiful sunny November afternoon and a young boy was the victim.
The Mercury has already posted a brief mention of this afternoon’s latest chapter of violence:
WITNESSES: POTTSTOWN SHOOTING VICTIM WAS TEEN BOY
We’re doing OK? This is OK??
Chief Flanders’ contract is up next month (on December 31). Contact the Mayor. Contact your Council representative. Tell them you’re fed up and demand change.
Pottstown needs new leadership…and we need it NOW. Regardless of the sunshine and puppy talk from last Wednesday’s community meeting, the Pottstown Police Department DOES NOT have a handle on this dangerous escalating situation. Now gunfire is occurring in broad daylight and casualties are becoming monthly statistics.
WTF??
Call a state of emergency like Chester did this past summer. Get the state patrol in here. ESTABLISH A CURFEW FOR THE CORE NEIGHBORHOOD AND ENFORCE IT WITH A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY.
Commandeer every one of the codes enforcement officers and pair them up with a police officer, starting TOMORROW. Drive up and down every street and alley in the core neighborhoods and identify every rental house that the cops know harbor problem tenants, (and the cops do know), while the codes officers take down every single obvious violation and GO AFTER THE SLUMLORDS ASAP while the police, both local and state, swarm the streets like stink bugs on white: by foot, on bike and by car. The cops know where the problem properties are and they have police reports to back them up – go for the jugular – this is no time for game playing from our police chief. If he cannot get the job done, as I’ve already said, time to wave goodbye to Pottstown from the rear view mirror and drive into the sunset.
We need leadership that makes no excuses and get the job done.
I’m at a loss for words – I really don’t know where to begin. In my humble opinion, “states of emergency” and going house to house will take a town from 40% rentals to 80% rentals. (not to mention all the illegal search and seizure issues)
I know there’s an initiative to begin vigorous town watches and I think the police need to support this effort and get to know the positive and productive members of the community. There certainly needs to better communication between the residents and the police on the beat and there certainly needs to be foot patrols. I would pay a tax increase (I’m hearing 3% this year) to put officers on foot patrol in the core neighborhood. They gotta get out of their cars and talk to people. I also think cameras and surveillance can be improved. Put the town on camera – at least the key intersections and we know where they are. We have cameras all over the corner at King & Washington and the digital recordings we have captured have lead to several arests. When we opned for business as Lotos, how long do you think it took to push the drugs off the corner? Even with the bar closed and not being there every hour to monitor things,I would venture to say King and Washington is far less likely to be the site of illegal activites compared to anywhere along Beech St, 300-400 Walnut, Chestnut or 0-300 blocks of N Evans, N Franklin or N Charlotte.
You light up an area and you take pictures!
Why not clean up and change the “core neighborhood?” TAKE IT BACK. Everything else is lipstick on a pig.
I know, what about a centralized K-5 campus – you know, a separate building for K & 1, 2 & 3 and 4 & 5. There would be the ability to have a brand new facility and with the demolition of Washington to Warren and King to Chestnut! Hmmmm The good people of Pottstown were worried about sending their kids into “that” neighborhood.
I guess now they feel vindicated in their short sighted decision to vote down the central school campus, newer facilities, something the town could take pride in and the removal of much of the very problem we now face. Too bad it wasn’t a bigger block of land.
By the way, most of the CORE neighborhood is for sale.
One could buy it back and do what they with it – within, of course “TTN” zoning that few can understand
Maybe “that” neighborhood would be THE neighborhood with a spectacular building, fabulous campus, and millions of dollars in streetscape improvements. But… we’ll probably never know.
yeah, and it’s a bit like beating a dead horse too. This is what we have to work with now and we need to find the best and most expedient way to clean up that neighborhood. Sorry, no school, so now let’s envision what it can be with the effort of many and a few lucky stars. Beginning with shutting down the slumlords and ridding the core of criminals. I firmly believe we need the state troopers here for a few weeks, and we need a short term curfew. If the criminals can’t sell drugs, they won’t make money, if they don’t make money they will look for greener pastures.