Category Archives: Lowell Police Department

Here we go again

I’m so sick and tired of this subject I could just scream out loud…I might just try that to see if it helps (neighbors don’t call the police I’m just losing it) .  We live in one of the most totally fabulous neighborhoods I have ever had the chance to live in or visit.  Across the country or across the globe there are not many places that are more livable than downtown Lowell.

Just my opinion about the SUN article regarding incident at Brian’s Ivy Hall because if you are going to write a story try to at least hit the highlights…don’t worry I’ll do it for you:

I’ll try to categorize some of what is missing from this article:
Residents vs. Bars – prior to the opening of BIH residents and bar owners had spent a considerable number of years bickering.  Chief Lavallee, apparently tired of the whole thing, put us all together in a room regularly and low-and-behold we got to know each other, like each other, and found a common ground (not to mention bar owners realized that residents are their most loyal customers).  The SUN stopped covering our meetings because they were getting pretty boring; peace and harmony does not sell papers.  Enter Brian’s Ivy Hall, or should I say, Kevin Hayhurst, who appears to be the spokesman for whatever cartel actually has a stake in this establishment, showing complete disdain for residents and neighboring business owners.  Spending most of his time as a Paris Hilton wanna-be…famous for being nothing but an egomaniac and treating his peers to all sorts of jeers and  nasty comments on facebook.  The SUN should be ashamed for the headline of this story…get over this tired old headline.  Bars and residents were doing fine before this place opened.
City Taxpayers – not a single mention of the tens-of-thousands of taxpayer dollars that have been spent directly outside BIH since it’s opening due to all of the mayhem at the corner of Merrimack and John streets.  I think the SUN should have interviewed at least one taxpayer from Pawtucketville and asked how they feel about this business siphoning tax dollars to babysit their patrons.  BIH no longer pays for police details like other bars do; they just rely on the 4-officer downtown detail.  Sweet!
 I think the SUN should do a little actual reporting work and find out the exact amount being paid in city taxes by this establishment.  Mr.  Hayhurst does not live in Lowell any longer and as a tenant wasn’t paying property taxes anyway and BIH does not own the building so they are not paying property taxes.  Please tell me what they are contributing?
Police – the most obvious is less than accurate testimony by police officers at License Commission hearings regarding BIH.  I wrote about this issue back in when the License Commission was trying to address the noise issues and somehow the 20+ noise complaints about BIH did not exist (note to Chief: one of your officers entered a woman’s home after 10PM to investigate a noise complaint and did not file a report).  This same situation happened again just hours before the most recent incident when there were allegations that BIH had not called police about an assault that occurred (mind please…Mr. Hayhurst’s assertion that this happened in the “common hallway” leading to BIH, not actually inside.  My assertion; when you are using that street level door as your entrance, there is nothing “common” about it; it is being used as part of your business) police officers told Commissioner’s there has never been any problems associated in or around BIH. Please explain those tens-of-thousands of dollars.  I completely understand loyalty and these guys are only human (one of the BIH owners  Mr. Finns’ brother is a police officer and frequently is seen working the downtown weekend detail outside his brothers bar) I’m sure other officers do not want to be seen as saying anything against a fellow police officers family member.   The police dept. does not seem to be able/willing to address this issue.
License Commission – there is just too much to say about this group;  so most recently the Commission granted a new liquor license to BIH owners for Finn’s Pub (hence it is named after one of the owners you don’t hear about and/or his brother the police officer) despite the fact the owners did not have all of the required items in place such as a floor plan for the 2nd floor and despite requests from residents (same residents spoke in favor of the license sans the entertainment) that they not be issued another “all entertainment” license which has led to an entire 2nd floor with no tables, no chairs…just an extension of BIH.  You can party on the 3rdfloor and bring your drinks down to the 1st and 2nd floor as if you are within the same licensed premises.  Again…Sweet!
If the SUN is going to write a story about what goes on downtown would you please at least “pretend” to have done some investigation into the reality of the situation.

LICENSE COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY

Today’s SUN has an aritcle about this weeks meeting and the charges being brought against downtown establishments.

Can we be optimistic that the License Commission will deliver the approriate action for these violations? Considering the attendance at City Council special meeting we can certainly say that we encourage them to do so.

The License Commission agenda is not published as yet but they have another 5 hours to get it done before the deadline per the regulations.

Agenda for License Commission on March 08, 2012, 03:00 PM (pertinent parts)
-Corey Belanger of Major’s Pub, CB Enterprises, Inc., sound system for band, disc jockey, St. Patrick’s Day celebration, Saturday, March 17, 2012, 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., enclosed tent in front of 34 Jackson Street
Public hearing on the application for alteration of premises by The Middle Street Village Inc., d/b/a Village Smokehouse, all alcoholic beverages Restaurant licensee 92-98 Middle Street. (this is for outdoor seating)
-Hearing on the allegations of misconduct as charged by Kenneth E. Lavallee, Superintendent of Police, against J & I Restaurant Incorporated, d/b/a Fortunato’s, Yousef A. Ayyub, Manager, all alcoholic beverages Restaurant licensee at 44 Palmer Street.
-Communications/reports; From Kenneth E. Lavallee, Superintendent of Police
J & I Restaurant Incorporated, d/b/a Fortunato’s, all alcoholic beverages Restaurant licensee at 44 Palmer Street – disturbance on the licensed premises the morning of February 10, 2012, review public need in accordance with section 12 of chapter 138, MGL, to decrease hours for the sales of alcoholic beverages during the calendar week from 2:00 a.m. to 11 p.m.
-The Middle Street Village, Inc., d/b/a The Village Smokehouse, all alcoholic beverages Restaurant licensee at 92-98 Middle Street – sales of alcoholic beverages to two (2) intoxicated patrons the morning of February 4, 2012
-From Robert Marsilia, Building Commissioner, dated February 23, 2012 re: Fortunato’s/Forty Four at Fortunato’s/Club 44

SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN

Snow Emergency – Parking Ban – is being LIFTED immediately – March 1, 2012 – 1:57 PM.

Lowell Police to host Citizen’s Academy

The Lowell Police Department is holding its 27th Citizen’s Academy this fall. This popular eight week course is held to educate citizens about the Lowell Police Department, its organization, operations and role in the community. Participants will gain an understanding of police department responsibilities and the laws that govern it. Students are given the opportunity to offer their ideas and share their experiences. The goal of the academy is to develop a partnership between citizens and their local law enforcement agency that benefits both.
Classes are taught by Lowell Police Department administrative and supervisory staff.
The Citizen Academy is fee of charge and is open to all local citizens 18 yrs. and older. Classes will be held on eight Wednesday evenings from October 12th – November 30th.
The hours are 6pm-9pm. Classes are held at Lowell Police Training Dept. located at 99 Middlesex St., between the Registry of Motor Vehicles and Garcia Brogan’s Restaurant.
Applicants must have a clean court record. Background checks are done on all applicants. Applicants with numerous traffic violations will not be considered.
An applicant is asked to commit to attending every week if accepted. Class space is limited to 40 students and there is always a waiting list.
Applications for Citizen Police Academy are available on Lowell Police Department Website, Blog and Facebook page.
Applications and further information can be obtained by contacting Sharon Callery at LPD Community Services, (978)937-3210

A few things from today’s SUN article…

http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_18762697



“I took offense to this and I’ll tell you why,” Bayliss said. “This makes the License Commission look stupid.”

In my opinion it made the License Commission look INFORMED. Then there’s this…

“Bayliss even apologized to bar owners, saying that he has long told them to call police when issues arise, and agreeing that it seems they are being punished for that. “

I’ll add that the bar owners were the meeting even though they did not have to be there. I think that means they are serious about participating in the process and they certainly showed more respect for the chief than the commissioners did.

“Weicker: suggested either police or bar owners maintain a list of people who cause fights and other problems in bars so they could be barred from all bars in the city.

I am not an attorney…but as a citizen I have to hope there is some kind of law preventing this.

The same report will be discussed by the City Council’s Public Safety Subcommittee at a meeting Sept. 13th 5Pm prior to city council meeting. Anyone concerned about this issue is urged to attend.

I posted this on Rob’s facebook…but will share my thoughts about the License Commission meeting today.

Since I was at the meeting too I have to say a few things. 1. Respectfully to Mr. Bayliss; this is NOT about him or the License Commission. This is about everyone involved getting together and trying to determine what the future of the neighborhood is going to be; stop pointing fingers and come up with some solid ideas. In my opinion Chief Lavallee has identified a problem and he is reaching out to everyone involved looking for solutions 2. I’m sure the stats are up because more incidents are being reported. That does not mean there were less incidents. I could be wrong but I suspect this can be attributed to the current sector captain who was formerly in a neighborhood were REALLY bad things happen and the guy is probably wondering why on earth this nonsense is tolerated. 3. In my opinion the reason we can not attract better businesses downtown is because any serious business owner doing their due diligence is going to hang around the neighborhood at all hours for at least a few weeks…and probably thinking this is not the place for me. 4. People from Belvidere should not have to look at there watch and think “It’s almost 10; I better get out of Dodge”…reference point 3. 5. Possibly above all else and something newer people to the area do not understand; historically people did not LIVE downtown; they worked here. When industry started to leave and the city found itself with a ghost-town (I remember the 80’s) someone came up with the wacky idea of filling the place up with subsidized housing. That was good but still more space…let’s fill the rest of the place up with more people (really crazy idea). However no one ever sat down and thought about the logistics of how you mix all those pieces together. I think LDNA and the LPD and most of the bar owners have done an excellent job of getting together and finding a way to make it all work. The city council and the License Commission should get on board and throw out anyone who doesn’t have a long-term goal of being a responsible part of the community. 6. As someone who does not discriminate; I make an effort to try out everything downtown; I love my island! (yes we are surrounded by water on all sides-maybe we should just pull up the draw-bridge at 1AM…alternatively we might consider shutting off the alcohol at 1AM and staying open all night for breakfast) It’s a great place to live; it is and should be a great place for anyone to come out and have some fun and not have to deal with the both the petty nonsense and certainly not have to leave before 10 to avoid an unruly bunch of drunks or precariously step over the vomit going out the door in the morning…or worse. 7. Last but not least, the LPD should not have to “baby-sit” drunks when there is an entire city who needs them; my tax dollars could be much better spent. KMM

p.s. Commissioner Weicker did not make a new friend today when he made reference to my being “old”.

Lowell police probing Riverwalk sex assault

If anyone was out on the riverwalk Friday morning…please call LPD if you may have seen this person.

LOWELL — Police are asking for the public’s in tracking down a man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman Friday morning while she was jogging on a walkway near the Aiken Street bridge.

Lowell police Capt. Jack Webb said the woman was jogging along the Lowell Riverwalk at 9:30 a.m. when her alleged attacker dragged her away from the walkway and proceeded to sexually assault her.

Webb said she managed to later run away and sought help from another pedestrian.

The suspect is described as a white man, between 18 and 25 years old, with dark hair and no facial hair. He was possibly wearing dark pants.

Webb said the woman received medical care but added that the case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lowell police at 978-937-3200 or Crimestoppers at 978-459-TIPS (8477). Information can also be sent to police via Text-a-Tip, by texting TIP411 (847411) with the subject, LPDTIP

LIGHTS ON CRIME OFF

Lowell residents and business owners please join Lowell Neighborhood groups and CBA for the Lights on Crime Off Campaign Kick -off and Press Event TUES June 28th 6.00 PM in front of the Lowell City Hall

In the downtown neighborhood there are a few great bright spots at night; Merrimack St. in front of LaBoniche, Mambo Grill, Trends, Humanity, even Chantilly Place on the corner of John St. has great lighting. What we need is to enlist some businesses to make an invest in our neighborhood by leaving a light on…and everyone would benefit from some light in the alleys.

Ask a Neighbor to flip on a switch and leave one light in the window. Leaving a light on overnight helps REDUCE CRIME and cost approx 7 cents a day.

SUN story about city proposal to impose security requirements for owners with large cache of firearms.


“Secure storage of the guns should help prevent thefts, and the alarm systems would enable police to respond quickly to potential thefts and keep the guns out of criminals’ hands, said Lavallee”.
http://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_18007364