The post
"Walking the Dog Terror" hit a nerve and evoked lots of comments. Unfortunately, as I learned this morning, readers' recent attempts to post comments have met with an annoying error message. (I got the same one when I attempted to post a comment on behalf of a reader.) So, with the permission of the authors, I am posting these two comments as part of a new post. On the assumption that the problem is "post specific," I invite people who tried to comment on "Walking the Dog Terror" but couldn't to try commenting on this post.
"This is a terrible story. But it's a reminder of how close the culture of violence is in Hudson. The high-rise and lower State Street are teeming with fights and that might explain the cops' lackluster response to this incident. . . . If anyone cares to get a glimpse of this culture in a safe environment, I urge you to visit our local high school. You may not see a fight, but you'll catch some of the undertones of anger and physicality that go into creating the kinds of folks who spill on to our streets and do damage. . . . I'll be glad to arrange a 'tour.'"
Peter Meyer
518.929.6505
"A little more than two years ago I took part in launching a loosely-knit "neighborhood watch" on lower Allen Street. We are still in existence, I think, although we're not very organized.
"At that time I shared several emails with Lieutenant Paolino, of the HPD. He told me that they were working on a roster of police sergeant contacts for each ward, in order that they might meet regularly with ward residents to discuss local problems and to encourage people to be more active. (It is true that Hudson citizens are not very involved, which shows in the few calls they get even for incidents such as gun play.)
"The Lieutenant explained that the assignments would be "coming from the Chief," so if I had a specific request I should put the word in.
"I asked for Sergeant Moon for the 1st Ward, since Moon has been here for many years. I'd met Sergeant Moon when I found a drug cache floating in the sewer at the bottom of Partition Street. He remembered being on call around 10 years earlier, the night my wife found a man with his throat slit on our steps. I thought, Sergeant Moon is our man.
"But then nothing ever happened. I asked the Lieutenant why not, and he reported that there was some confusion between the aldermen on the matter. I certainly do not blame Sergeant Moon if the program couldn't get off the ground, but I do not know whether the HPD dropped the ball or whether someone else did. Maybe it was just entropy.
"However, to those who do not believe that bad things happen in Hudson, just wishing that it were not so presents a different kind of danger."
T. O'Connor
I'm not a dog owner / walker but after reading these stories i would definitely carry pepper spray with me at all times - for both dog and man - at least it's not a taser gun !
ReplyDeleteI am a resident of Hudson as is my dog. While we have not been met with that kind of hostility out & about, I think it is important to acknowledge that hostility does exist. I appreciate Sarah Sterling's comments and suggestion that intimidation and harassment are such serious issues they should be met with the pressing of charges.
ReplyDeleteLike the folks who were accosted, I am always careful to bag and dispose of my dog's indiscretions. Not every dog owner is. The lot on first and Union is an example where some dog owners do not. Recently the lot has been cleaned up, flowers have been planted and it now mowed regularly. Sad that someone took some pride in that lot (that someone is not Eric Galloway BTW) and there are dog owners who continue to use it as their dog's dumping ground without regard to either cleanliness or pride.
I greatly appreciate dogs are now allowed in the waterfront park. My dog is always leashed, however I find many dogs are not. In fact some dogs are unsupervised when the owner is either nowhere to be found or chatting in the boathouse while some are unleashed and haphazardly supervised by an uncaring owner.
As Sarah Sterling suggested, more than half our taxes are slated for law enforcement. It is therefore our right to call for that enforcement. We, collectively, own that right.
Since last summer I estimate that I have called the HPD about UNLEASHED DOGS in the 1st ward about 45 times!
ReplyDeleteI have reason to believe that I have been one of the few, if not the only person calling the HPD regularly about this problem.
Please join me in this effort, everyone. I have noticed good results for awhile after calling, but if we don't really care about it then the police feel they have far better things to do.
I don't blame the HPD for that; I blame my fellow citizens.
T. O'Connor
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/joshua-funches-killed-after-dog-urinates-on-neighbor-charles-clements-chicago-suburb-lawn/19476442
ReplyDelete"At that time I shared several emails with Lieutenant Paolino, of the HPD. He told me that they were working on a roster of police sergeant contacts for each ward, in order that they might meet regularly with ward residents to discuss local problems and to encourage people to be more active. (It is true that Hudson citizens are not very involved, which shows in the few calls they get even for incidents such as gun play.)"
ReplyDeleteThat's a humorous quote.I once called the Police Station to ask why the two apartments around 1st street that sell heroine are never busted and they connected me with a voicemail to leave a message. Big surprise, they never called back.
To Anonymous: I am going by the statistics offered at the police committee meetings, and by the anecdotes of various HPD staff.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, if I have found what I believe to be inconsistencies among those statistics that suggest underreporting, I have yet to meet another citizen who is paying attention. This recapitulates the same observation on a more personal, though less testable level.
We should all be documenting and saving our various personal stories with the HPD, and maybe someday enough of us will care to actually effect something in Hudson.
Sorry to be so totally cynical about my fellow citizens, but I won't hold my breath.
T. O'Connor