It seems that the city's people can't get any space between Bad Press. If it's not a report of shots being fired, it's a call for an Armed Robbery.
The Mayor appointed a new police chief after being elected back in 2020. Jeff Cardoza was his pick, and it appeared it was a good one. Cardoza was very open to meeting and talking with members of the city, and the social media organizations and pages were happy with him.
The city seemed it was getting itself back on track until the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Almost overnight, the city was unsure what to do and how the new Mayor would address it. Mayor Coogan didn't have any idea what to do or what he was going to do to help keep people safe, keep a business open and get kids to school. However, No mayor in any city had a plan. This came out of the blue. The Governor was telling us very little.
It didn't take long until we were seeing more drugs on the street, more OD's, more random crimes. When a city is running around trying to do 100 things at one time, it is not long before the criminals see an opening to do business, and they did. We saw handbags being taken from old ladies and drugs everywhere. Police were over-stressed with all that was being put on them because of the covid problem. Men went out sick, and over time became normal. Cops were overworked, and the criminals took advantage.
Fall River isn't much different than any gateway city, where people have a per capita earning of $25,000 and mid-income of $34,000. A city where the administration spends more than it takes in as well as every cent they overtax you. A city where you are told is a safe place to live at the same time we are seeing twice as many reports of shots fired than last year. We had 17 total in 2020. We are closing in on 40, and the year isn't over yet.
Last month a young man will shot in his apartment by a police officer twice and killed. That case is still being investigated, and the family is asking for information they are not getting. In late Oct, there were shots fired in the area of Whipple street where I live, and a few days later, again just two streets over. In mid-summer, a shooting in a park in a South end neighborhood left a young man dead and an 18 yr old arrested. In Kennedy Park where police found two women in a car, one shot in the head.
Two young men were arrested. In Oct, a man was shot in the leg just walking down the street in a Flint Neighborhood. When asked, Mayor Paul Coogan said that ( The City Of Fall River is a safe place to live).
I will end here. Although I could list dozens more shots fired in this ( SAFE CITY ), One thing to think about is, What happened to bring the shot spotter back in line???
I guess we will have to wait until the next time shots are fired, or another kid is killed for the Mayor to tell us, of course, after he assures us of how Safe the City is.
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