Up to now I have bitten my tongue on Chester’s State of Emergency but I guess I should have spoken sooner.
The Timing
There is a split in opinion on whether the announcement was timed to make the soccer stadium folks comfortable or a sincere move to address the crime wave. I would suggest that both situations contributed to the timing of the announcement.
However, Chester has about the same amount of murders each year and children have been shot in the past with no state of emergency ever announced. As Thaddeus Kirkland says, “We’ve been in a State of Emergency for 4 or 5 years.”
The Announcement
I’m concerned that a press release went out only 2 hours before the announcement explaining that details will not be shared until the announcement.
I’m curious why the announcement was held at City Hall which took the mayor away from an anti-violence rally he was attending. It seems that the anti-violence rally would have been the perfect place to stage the announcement.
When I reached out to my police friends to get details on the announcement, they knew nothing about it. One officer contacted me as late a 8:30pm that evening to see if I had any details to share with them.
I learned that at least one city council member didn’t know about the announcement until 3 hours after it was presented.
Regardless of the lack of notice community wide, the citizens were subject to the state of emergency less than 5 hours after the announcement.
Clarity of The Announcement
I still don’t know what exactly the state of emergency covers. As the Chester City Blogger, I would have thought that I’d receive a detailed description from City Hall of the SoE to share with you, but I’m just as confused as most of you.
Inconsistent Police Activity
It didn’t take long before I started getting information from people telling me their stories. Many people have been forced off of their front porches into their homes on the hottest nights of the season. People have been walking up to their front steps to go home and have been apprehended and fined. One friend told me he was run off the road one block from his home, told to lie on the street, and spent the night in jail. All charges were later dropped.
At the William Penn Job Fair held in the middle of the afternoon, 4 young men leaving the fair with applications in their hands were thrown upside a wall by police and told that no more than 3 people can be together.
Finally, people have reported that they have been stopped by police outside of the targeted areas. I even heard that a 70 year old man was pulled from his car with guns drawn but was let go once they realized he was an older man.
Clarity of The Announcement Part 2
The Chester Spirit paper says, ‘For residents in the targeted areas, the emergency declaration means that no one is allowed on any public street or in any public place without a legitimate reason and also forbids three or more people from standing on the street corners between 9pm and 6 am, without a permit.’
Does that mean that...no one is allowed on any public street or in any public place without a legitimate reason at any time of the day or does this rule apply only between 9pm and 6am? Does anyone know?
Growing Anxiety
Most folks are not happy with how this SoE is being enforced. People would like to sit on their property at anytime of the day or night. If they are driving in a targeted area they expect to be watched going in and out of the home but don’t want to go to jail just because they are coming home or have to go out for legitimate reasons.
Many folks don’t know where the boundaries are. They feel that the city could at least hand out flyers with a map of the city showing the affected area.
The most disturbing result of this SoE is that people are becoming more and more distrustful of the police.
My Role
This is yet another example of the City of Chester failing to communicate to its residents. This is a steady complaint of mine. If they can send me a press release to announce the State of Emergency, they also are responsible to follow up with details of the SoE that I can share with the readers. Sure, a lot of people read the Daily Times but the SoE was a day old when the paper came out. Sure, it was on the local news stations but if you’re like me, you don’t watch those programs. Couldn’t they have made the announcement a few days ahead of enforcement so everyone (police, council, business owners, residents and the press) could prepare themselves?
What’s Next?
Now that a police officer has been shot, the lack of clarity will certainly work in the enforcers behalf. If you think it’s ugly now...
Another shooting in Chester today. I think it has gotten worse since the mayor called State of Emergencey. A police officer was shot today in a shoot out on 11th and upland. Have the mayor made it better or worse. Maybe he should be brought up on criminal charges for starting this mess. He waited too long to call in the calvery. And now people upset and just shooting. Too late of judgement call. All smiles on tv wow! There is nothing to smile about.
ReplyDeleteI am one of the Anonymous persons that writes comments on the site and you never post them…I own 18 properties in Chester, one on Upland Street and you can imagine how frightened I am for my tenants. I will say this again. A new stadium means a new revenue stream. There ought to be a gun buy-back and cameras placed at every single traffic light.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous. I publish ALL comments, even ones I probably shouldn't. I will admit that this Goggle Blogger tool isn't perfect. I have responded to comments that have never appeared. Other times, I think I forgot to hit 'Post Comment' button. Some people forget which article they posted comments to. That's why I added the 'Recent Comments...' bar on the left. I hate that it does a bad job of recognizing punctuation, but that's a issue Google is trying to work out. If you don't see your comment, get right back with me with an email.
ReplyDeleteThe people of chester need to replace their Mayor. The people there has lost respect for him. He sold them out years ago. Now he is sitting back watching this city be raped everyday. Waiting for Mr. (Chalie)to tell him when to stick it to them from the back.He used a bad situation to look good for himself and Mr. Chalie and it back fired. Now he should be arrested on criminal charges for striking the match to this mess he can't handle.
ReplyDeleteI live in one of the communities adjacent to Chester. I have spent a lot of time there in recent weeks doing temp work, which has brought me into contact with a lot of the people who live there.
ReplyDeleteAs with most things, you will find what you look for. I found gracious people who were generally more polite than my affluent neighbors. I met people who smiled and met me halfway when I tried my best to speak their language. I saw a lot of little children with caring families around them.
I went to the Union game with my kids on Sunday. We didn't give the SoE a thought, because Rep Kirkland has hit the nail on the head when he states that things are about the same in Chester as they've ever been. As we walked to the stadium (we parked on the street) my son remarked on the history that his family has in the city; two generations ago, his great-uncles worked in the Chester shipyards. Chester had factories then, and Chester had jobs. Here's hoping the new stadium will bring more of those.
It's wrong to talk about Chester as if it's a war zone around the world. Your neighbors live there. Greet them as you go by.
If you are not a resident of Chester or was born and raised there like most residents of Chester, You don't have anything to bring to the table. Like you said you live in a neighborhood adjacent to Chester. Why are you even on this page. You know absolutley nothing.You are on the outside looking in. Try being on the inside looking in, out, around and back then someone will listen to what you have to say. Who are you?The people of Chester have had enough of everything and people like you who talk and know nothing.
ReplyDeleteI am on this page because Chester gets a bad rap. I am looking in from the outside, but what I see doesn't look too different from lower Manhattan where I grew up.
ReplyDeleteOur president offers to extend a hand to those who will unclench their fists. Which path would you choose?
I was born and raised right here in Chester. I came out of Chester High School in 1978. I have since relocated to Virginia Beach. I read the DELCO Times everyday. But I just had to say something. Here is an interesting thought!......"When a family is stuck in the cycle of poverty, they live in a culture that is different from the rest of society. A poverty culture is created by the collective programming of the mind; a mind that is persistently assaulted with deprivation, violence, put-downs, and low expectations. This culture creates an economic and social divide that isolates one social economic class from another". It all begins at home! I still visit Chester from time to time. But it has truly changed from what it used to be. I still have siblings and other family members here and I pray for them daily. Also, I pray that the people of Chester will get through all this madness and come to the realization that we all need prayer and to get down on our knees and ask GOD for HIS help and HIS forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteI believe part of Chester's problems is the fact that it is predominatly Black. What little caucasians we have here are poor, lower class, and have some sort of mental issues. That's #1 know #2 We have put in office an Uncle Tom Mayor who follow the rules from his Massa. There is a hidden agenda for the City of Chester and and its residents. And until it is completed our Mayor and his army will do as Massa says and nothing more. Therefore Chester residents better wake up. There are moves being made while you are asleep.
ReplyDeleteDuhh, I am a Caucasian from the city. Not poor. Not lower class. No form of mental illness. But, I do pay taxes. I try to live right. I try to follow the rules. I even follow speed limit signs and those that flash to slow down in school zone areas. I vote. I maintain my property.
ReplyDeleteI do get upset with those who break or not follow even the simplest of rules. But that makes up people of various ethnic groups, colors, religions, etc.
If you know what these moves are that are being made while we are asleep, LET US KNOW!!!!
Inform us. Teach us.
What I do expect though, is that you will not respond with that of which you think you know.
What I do expect though, is that our city leaders will be our leaders and not wait until murders happen, or layoffs come, or taxes increase.
Oh, where is that City of Chester bulletin that we used to receive? Just asking.
I am also wondering how much the contract for the pool at Memorial Park is costing the residents of the city? k On Friday, July 2, I noticed 7 people in that pool around noon. That would seem to make it quite expensive.
Just asking...and hoping for a response.
I'll never tell you what I think I know but I will honestly share what others have shared with me. Most of it could be considered hearsay but I trust my sources. As I've mentioned to others, I leave research and investigative reporting to the professionals. They get paid for their knowledge in those areas. I do this blog for free.
ReplyDeleteThe city is very proud of their bulletin. I've always felt that it lacks substance and does more to applaud past successes than inform. It's frequency is woefully underwhelming. I don't know what the publication schedule is but a weekly publication in some form is much needed.
You obviously went past the pool at a slow period. It's usually packed with kids. My guess is that they probably show up a little later in the afternoon.
Thanks for your comments and perspective. Don't be a stranger.
I think everyone needs to quit blaming the mayor, the police, the motivational means, etc, blah blah blah. The hard cold fact is that the one's you need to blame are the one's murdering. The 16 year old is charged with the homicide because it happened during the commission of a felony, which is the law. You don't like, do something to change the laws. But for now, hush... because that's how it is. And... hello... are we forgetting this 16 year old was committing a crime? He was taking the hard earned money and property from someone. Why question what happens to him? If he didn't get caught, he'd just end up continuing. Maybe the next time he might have shot someone in their own home. He made a choice to be there. He made the choice to steal from someone rather than being a man and working for what he wants. More or less, a street thug. Let it go. Let them charge him. It's another soon-to-be murderer or career criminal off the street. And this may also give him the chance to clean his act up. This is what he needs, and it's exactly what he deserves. I'm all for it.
ReplyDeleteNow, why not stop arguing about how this should have been handled this way, or this should have been done in this manner. Or he or she is wrong. Open your eyes. Look at what you have. I won't sugarcoat it: Chester is a horrible place. I was born here. This city is terrible. I am constantly afraid for my mother, who is elderly, to go out on her own. Look at the murder rate. I mean, are you kidding me?? This is nothing like what it once was. I welcomed the curfew. I welcomed all the extra police support.
What someone said about the majority of the population being mostly black, and that it the problem: I think there is some merit to that. A lot of black people will handle their problems different. Much of the time, they will be quicker to pick up a gun and steal to get something rather than working for it. More blacks are born and raised in poverty, which aides them in resulting to a life of crime. Plus, they're killing their own people. How many of the 20+ homicides in the past year were committed by blacks? If I remember correctly, 100%. It's sad, but this is the factual truth. The most violent, most crime ridden cities across the nation, are those that are predominantly black. This is a fact, a statistical fact.
Black people: Stop looking for the easy way out. Go to school. Get a scholarship. Go to college. Work hard. Make something of yourself. You don't have to turn to the street. And don't give me that jive about: "I grew up in the ghetto, I didn't have a choice". Bull! You ALWAYS have a choice. It's up to you to make the right one. Don't look for things to be handed to you. Life is tough. But you need to be determined. You need to work your butts off! Don't turn to the street, a gang and a gun. Don't harm innocent people, and don't put your life in danger. When people stereotype black people regarding crime, gangs, killing, ignorance, etc.... I say to the black people... "It's YOUR fault". It wouldn't happen if it weren't true. It's time to stand up and take responsibility. Don't play the race card. Don't play the ancestral slave card (that was a long time ago, get over it). Be a man, or a woman, and make something of yourself.
Oh, by the way, I am a 41 year old college graduate that owns his own business in Atlanta. I am also black, so I speak to you from experience.