GPHC Meeting seconds
At the last meeting of the GPHC, held at the District 2 Police Station, community members discussed issues related to neighborhood safety around the 2800 block of Fairfax with District 2 Commander Calo and nine other District 2 officers and representatives; John Jennings from the Excise and License department; Chris Gaddis from the City Attorney’s office; and Steve Charboneau from Community Mediation Concepts.
A map of Park Hill’s crime activity showed the community’s largest hot spot at the corner of 28th and Fairfax. While D2 officers explained that most of these calls were self-initiated by the police department, calls from neighbors reported issues of public intoxication, nuisance and loitering.
Commander Calo stated that the three young men involved in last summer’s 28th and Fairfax shooting, which injured a young woman, are in prison with a 15-year minimum sentence. While the community saw a flare-up of gang-related violence last summer, he stated that the Bloods now operate out of Aurora.
Attorney Gaddis discussed the difficulty of litigating against the crimes at 28th and Fairfax: loitering is not a crime, foul language is hard to prove and panhandling is nuanced, however direct threats rise to the level of litigation, as does trespassing. Gaddis stated that if a neighbor wants to file a complaint, they must be willing to put their name behind it and testify in court. Community discussion ensued on the calls that have been placed to District 2 dispatch. It was decided that callers should use the phrase “I want to sign a complaint,” when calling D2.
Excise and License’s Jennings stated that his office has not received a single call related to Fairfax Liquors. The store’s license will renew in May. GPHC board member Geneva Goldsby expressed her appreciation of the store’s working with the GPHC. Commander Calo stated that undercover liquor and drug busts on the block have yielded no arrests. The issue of Pastor who ministers from a van in front of Campbell’s Memorial Church and allows drinking in the church’s parking lot was discussed.
Other safety issues, like the December garage burglaries and a recent spike in fraudulent solicitors preying on the elderly, were discussed. The burglaries ceased when two individuals were arrested, and the Commander suggested that neighbors take a cell phone photo of suspicious solicitors.
Commander Calo responded to questions from the community on incidents of police intervention that it felt were counterproductive. Commander Calo responded that mistakes are going to be made, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be rectified. He gave the members of the meeting his cell phone number and requested that they call at any hour if a case is not being handled appropriately.