Residents turn out to discuss downtown shooting

Increased police patrols on foot and improved cooperation between town and school officials on fighting drugs in Springfield were two of the suggestions Monday night at a public meeting in the wake of a downtown shooting last week.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120717/NEWS02/707179886

Published July 17, 2012 in the Rutland Herald Residents turn out to discuss downtown shooting By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — Increased police patrols on foot and improved cooperation between town and school officials on fighting drugs in Springfield were two of the suggestions Monday night at a public meeting in the wake of a downtown shooting last week. Residents said there was little doubt in their mind that the violence was associated with illegal drug use, and they urged the Select Board to continue the recent stepped-up patrols in the downtown and problem areas of town. Close to 100 people attended the meeting of the Springfield Select Board, which was moved to Riverside Middle School to accommodate the large crowd. Last week, Terrick Craft, 28, of Springfield pleaded innocent to the attempted murder of Nicholas Brown, a shooting that took place in front of Tangles hair salon, just steps away from the intersection of Main and Park streets. The 8 p.m. shooting took place in broad daylight, in an area where many people walk in the evening. While Brown was not hurt in the incident, police said Craft fired several shots at him in what Brown said was a confrontation over his refusal to join Craft’s “fight club.” Brown, breaking his silence on the incident, said he was lucky to be alive, and he said the town had to do more for its youth. Too often, he said, young people in Springfield are “looking for dope.” People are scared and intimated in town by certain people, he said. “We shouldn’t walk with our heads down,” said Brown. “Don’t be afraid to come forward.” He said it was because he looked up and defended himself that he didn’t end up getting shot. Brown freely admitted he had used drugs and alcohol, had broken the law and spent time in jail. In fact, he was wearing a monitoring anklet for inmates on parole. But Brown said he had been “clean and sober” for two years, and was now going to church, and the father of a 16-month-old girl. He turned his life around, he said, People can change. Brown said the town’s youth — starting at age 10 until age 20 — need “a safe place.” People at the meeting talked but mostly listened, with people urging the Select Board to change the priorities of the Springfield Police Department toward more foot patrol and patrols of problem areas, such as Union Street, where Craft and his family live. Craft is being held at the state prison in Springfield for lack of $500,000 bail, in part because of his multiple felony convictions out of state. Brown said he lived near the downtown shooting scene, but is not staying at his home at this time. According to court records, Craft called friends from the prison and asked them to go beat up Brown. Patty Munson, the owner of Tangles, said police found evidence of the shooting inside her salon, and she said she and her customers were starting to feel unsafe at night in the downtown location. Munson and others said they often see drug deals happening on the streets of downtown. Munson urged the Select Board to continue police foot patrols and increased presence in the downtown. Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris said the problems facing Springfield were “systemic” but that there was a lot of good, and positive things happening in town. “We have some visionaries,” he said, referring to the Edgar May Recreation Center, the revitalized One Hundred River Street, the expansion at Winstanley and Black River Produce. Several of the members of the Select Board — and the one School Board member at the meeting — said the town and schools needed to do more to coordinate efforts to fight drug abuse among the town’s students. Joe Brown, who is the new athletic director at Springfield High School, said he was talking for himself, but he said he was very concerned about the “disconnection” between the town and schools. Several people said there should be more police presence on Union Street, where Craft lives, particularly since his house is directly across from Union Street School, one of the town’s elementary schools. “The biggest drug house in Springfield is in front of our elementary school,” Joe Brown said, while adding that Craft acted as a “mentor” to many young Springfield students. “Some students I know — from good families — are affiliated with this person. Mentoring our youth is unacceptable,” Brown said. “We need to start working together.” Select Board member David Yesman, who lives on Union Street, said part of the problem was pure economics. There are too many people in Springfield on public welfare benefits, they have too much time on their hands, he said, as a result, leading to crime. But several people — including fellow Select Board member Stephanie Gibson — took issue with Yesman’s comments. Ethan McNaughton and Christian Craig, the executive director of the Edgar May, and president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, both said the town needed to work together and send a message to the rest of the region that downtown shootings would not be tolerated. The perception is it is “very easy to conduct drug deals in downtown,” said Craig, adding it’s a perception the town has to fight.