Coffee with the Chief - August 13

The August Coffee with the Chief on August 13, 2007, was a sell-out. The meeting room at the Woodstock Police Department headquarters was full with a great turn-out of Woodstock residents. Chief Lowen introduced Officers Josh Rapacz and George Kopulos of Beat 22, and they described their work. Ofc. Rapacz works Midnight-8:00AM and conducts bar checks, on-street parking 2:00-6:00AM, and business checks. Ofc. Kopulos works 4:00PM-Midnight and handles foot patrols on the Square, deters homeless drinkers on the Square and at the Woodstock Depot, and watches for cars parked across sidewalks. The day officer for Beat 22 was on vacation.

Car burglaries are a problem in Woodstock and are more frequent because residents do not lock their cars. Thieves walk down the street and pull door handles. As soon as a door opens, they rifle the car and move on. Most of these would be prevented by the simple act of locking the car doors.

Residents were urged to report suspicious persons to the police department. A burglary suspect was nabbed two hours after breaking a window at a liquor store on Route 47 because a resident spotted a person hanging around another store and alerted police. The suspicious person was found hiding in a dumpster of a second burglarized business and was identified by videotape from the first burglary.

Chief Lowen reported about one vehicle that has been issued 32 parking tickets. Parking fines were recently increased.

My big question here is why the City has not taken aggressive action about prosecuting this parking violator. The police have done their job by writing the tickets. Now it’s up to the City of Woodstock to tell its City Attorney to summon the violator into court. And why hasn’t there been publicity about this? If Woodstock wants to halt recurring parking violations, stiff action should be taken AND there should be media attention.

Residents on the north end of town continue to report problems with roaming teenagers. Several residents attended this month’s Coffee, and one praised the recent police presence in the neighborhood. Problems dry up with the police are visible; as soon as they leave, the problems return. One resident reported children on bicycles playing “chicken” with motorists, causing drivers to stop their vehicles because the kids are blocking streets in the vicinity of the old Clay Street School. I myself encountered three kids on bicycles on Wheeler only two-three days ago. Now that I know it’s a problem, I’ll be contacting the police and will hang around until the cops can arrive and talk to the kids.

If you spot “Junior” on his motorscooter in the street up on Hilltop, give the police a call.

Chief Lowen mentioned a spitball fight at McDonald’s that got out of control when one kid pulled out his knife and cut the other kid. I have noticed in McDonald’s that management does NOT cut out horseplay. One evening some high school students came in, and one guy was carrying a girl on his back and cavorting around the lobby; she was not being quiet about her ride, either. When the manager failed to quiet him down, I went over and spoke to them. They were considerate enough to cut it out, but the question in my mind was why the manager, who was standing right there, did not do anything. Come on, McDonald’s; we are not going to tolerate hooligans around here.

Loud parties were mentioned as problems. If you are disturbed by a loud party, call the police and ask for an officer to go by and quiet things down. You don't have to make a formal complaint, and you don't have to talk to the officer. He doesn't have to come to your house first, and you don't want him to. If the party doesn't quiet down, then you may have to get further involved by signing a complaint and being willing to go to court and testify about how your peace was disturbed.

One resident reported being told it would be necessary to go to the police station and make a report. Not so. If you think your telephone call or request for police services is not being handled correctly, ask for the shift supervisor to call you back. If you still aren't satisfied, contact the Chief by phone, letter or email.

Loud car radios are handled differently. If an officer can hear a car stereo more than 75' from the car, he can write a ticket without your being a witness. But he'll need to hear it himself.

Chief Lowen holds his Coffee with the Chief on the second Monday of the month, from 7:00-8:30PM at the police department. Put it on your calendar. Next month, let’s have Standing Room Only. See you there on Monday, September 10. Check the newspaper or call the PD to see if the meeting date is changed because of Labor Day.