LEWISTON — The second community safety forum of the week Thursday night was a lot like the first: it was heavily attended, it was loud and at times it was feisty.
The vigorous 90-minute meeting turned into mostly a venting session — a chance for locals to get things off their chests and, occasionally, to offer suggestions.
Well over 100 people turned out to do so. One by one, roughly 20 locals took their place at the podium at Connors Elementary School to say their piece about the recent killings, the shootings and other crimes that have vexed the city.
One woman, 67-year-old Janet McCarthy, said she has lived in Lewiston all her life, but until roughly 10 years ago, she never felt the need to lock her door. Now, with shootings reported near daily and recent killings keeping the city on edge, she wonders if she can even stay here.
“I love this city,” she said, growing emotional at the podium. “I wanted to stay here for the rest of my life, but I’m getting scared. I don’t want anybody to be collateral damage, but that’s going to happen. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
McCarthy blamed mostly young people and the parents who let them run wild. She also had strong words for the school system for failing to make violent teens accountable.
Some speakers blamed police for failing to maintain transparency during recent episodes of violence. Others said blaming police is exactly the wrong thing to do, and in fact, is part of the problem. Blame police, one woman said, and it fosters an atmosphere of mistrust, which does the beleaguered city no good.
“There is a big divide in the community,” she said. “Everybody needs to come together and find a solution. Stop the blaming.
“I’ve been in the city for 27 years,” she said. “Never have I ever seen this level of crime. It’s disturbing.”
Some demanded a heavier police presence downtown. In fact, police have been increasing foot patrols in the inner city over recent days. Some suggested bike patrols might, help, too.
But Bob McCarthy, a city councilor, said part of the problem is that so many people are unwilling to work with police on solving crimes or preventing them. The people of Lewiston, McCarthy said, should be working with the police and with each others to combat the mayhem around them.
“We need the neighbors to look out for neighbors,” McCarthy said. “You hear about shootings, but none of the witnesses come forward. You can’t tell me that when a car pulls up in front of an apartment building and fires six shots into a building that no one saw the vehicle; or what kind it is, or the plate number. No, they just don’t want to say anything. And that’s the mentality we have to change.
“You want the city to be safe,” McCarthy said, “You’ve got to work with the police. And the first thing is a neighborhood watch. Look out for yourself. Look out for your neighbors, contact the police when you see something. Come forward when you know something and help. It’s a trend that will snowball. If we start doing it, people will see the positive effects from that. It’ll snowball and the city will be much better off.”
The forum and a similar one Tuesday were scheduled following a shooting on Knox Street that left two dead last month. Since then, at least one more shooting has occurred, on Lisbon Street last Saturday.
When the mother of one of the deceased victims from the Knox Street shootings got up to speak, through an interpreter, the crowd turned rambunctious in the school cafeteria. When the woman angrily blamed police, hospital workers and medical examiners for failing to keep her informed about the killing, some in the audience began to shout, either in support of her or with opposing opinions. When several people drew together, shouting, at the back of the cafeteria, police intervened and struggled to calm the situation.
Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre called the woman and her interpreter back to the podium, advising them that he would speak to the mother privately and tell her as much as he could about the investigation into the July slayings on Knox Street.
“I think it’s very important for us to be able to help her,” the chief said, “and maybe have the state police here as well because they completed the investigation.
“We had a very tragic incident that involved the deaths of two community members here and that’s very concerning for us,” the chief said. “And I’m very, very sorry for all of the families in the community that are affected by this. I really am.”
More residents took to the podium. One woman suggested that more funding is needed for organizations who do “boots to the ground initiatives, from peer support, community organizing, community health workers — people that know every single day what’s going on.”
One man demanded more accountability and transparency for police and suggested that a kind of citizens’ review board should be put in place. Another said police should be better about responding to citizen complaints, saying that every time he’s sent the chief or other members of the department emails, they went unanswered.
Present at the forum Thursday night were several law enforcement officials, from the school resource officer, to the mental health workers who walk beats with cops to the department’s public information officer.
Lewiston School Superintendent Jake Langlais was at the meeting as was District Attorney Neal McLean Jr., although no questions were asked of them. None of the speakers Thursday night addressed the issue of local drug trafficking and its role in the recent wave of violence.
Police asked those who attended to write down their thoughts on what the main problems are and what can be done about it on scraps of paper before leaving the meeting.
Police were still reviewing those responses later Thursday night, but their objectives remained the same.
“We want people to feel safe,” St. Pierre said. “We want them to feel safe in their homes and we want them to feel confident in talking to police.”
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