Roman candle or a .38 Special? I hoped the former, but guessed the latter when 20 minutes later, eight or nine steely reports again disturbed the night.

I peeked out the front window, and saw many more people than usual hanging out in the street, on the sidewalks. It seemed unsavory (or was I being racist?). I called the cops. The dispatcher already had a report of problems at 373 Laurel.

I asked for an officer to drive by. The dispatcher made a cop car appear within 10 minutes, and three cops followed on bicycles. I didn't see any arrests, or hear any ambulances, so I assumed no one was hurt in the shooting.

The police responded to a call at 373 Laurel, according to Lt. Scott Sansom. The report was of three black males drinking in front of the house. When police told them to leave, they did, Lt. Sansom said. No reports of gunshots that he could find.

On Monday, August 15, Laurel Street resident, Anna Mariotti, told me she parked on Niles Street Saturday night shortly before the gun shots.

Lt. Sansom couldn't confirm they were gunshots, as nothing was in the records. That is always a problem with those types of noise, he said.

But officers and witnesses heard gunshots. One cop told me it was typical of this Saturday night.

Laurel seemed busier than usual, Mariotti said.

"This one guy on a bike approached me, and asked me if I wanted to buy something," Mariotti said. She counted seven cops standing around on Niles, doing nothing.

"He saw the cops there, he was just riding his bike back and forth," Mariotti said. "The cops didn't even turn their heads. The vibe was like ÎI really need to go inside because the cops aren't noticing.'"

The thought of approaching the cops occurred to Mariotti, but, she said, "I've had enough drama."

Her experience with HPD has left her jaded.

"My biggest complaint is that they seemed oblivious to what was going on around them," Mariotti said. "If there is supposedly a shortage of cops, it can't be that bad if there are seven of them hanging around in one spot and not be cognizant of what is going on around them."

That's a perception, Lt. Sansom said.

"I don't like the feeling people have that cops aren't doing anything," he said.

In Hartford, Lt. Sansom said officers respond to 18 calls a night, sometimes making three arrests in a shift, which is unheard of in other departments.

"Our officers don't have the same jobs as other cops," he said. "We make hundreds of arrests daily. We're solving crimes. Cops do a great job, arrest a guy, and three days later, we arrest the same guy. It's easy to point the finger."

For weeks now, I have pointed a finger, focused intently on my neighborhood, and explored the idea of a police substation on my street corner as a solution to some of our local problems of drug dealing and prostitution.

Critics said I went overboard. Perhaps they were right. I thought a regular police presence might help Laurel Street. Lt. Sansom and others have said that substations work depending upon the way they are managed.

The police department is overworked and underfunded, Lt. Sansom said. He suggested that residents like myself meet with our community service officers and police administration officials to come up with a plan that best suits the neighborhood, because every neighborhood is different.

Perhaps we need to look at other solutions. Creating a better relationship between residents and officers is a start. How can police build the trust of citizens Ð because I am sure Anna Mariotti is not the only one who feels this way? How can citizens cooperate better with police, because I am certain that most officers would agree with Lt. Sansom?

Somewhere in the middle, we have to meet.

8/17/05

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