No Gangs At Fitch, Polic

By Wendy Sautter
Published on 1/21/2005

Groton -- The town police department is investigating allegations of gang violence at Fitch High School following an assault on three teens in December.

According to resident John Higgins, who spoke at a Dec. 21 Town Council meeting, the alleged attack took place after a school pep rally on a path that leads from Fitch down through Grasso Regional Vocational Technical School grounds and then into the Poquonnock Bridge area.

"Three teens were attacked by a group of kids and one kid was beaten so badly he had a softball-sized lump on his head and other cuts and bruises," Higgins told the council, adding that he thought the attackers could have been part of a gang.

"I addressed the council because I didn't feel phone calls made by my wife to the youth officer at the school were taken seriously or even handled correctly," he explained in an interview last week. "All we were trying to do was determine the threat level of the situation following the attack and I don't feel our concerns were addressed appropriately by the officer at the school."

Last week, acting police Chief Kelly Fogg told Town Council Committee Group I that the complaint was investigated and will continue to be investigated.

"It appears to be an incident that involved a group of kids. It does not appear to be gang-related," Fogg said. "There is no overt gang activity in Groton. ...

"Graffiti or markings sometimes called tags, active drug dealing, assaults, turf wars and general illegal activity can all be signs of a gang presence," he added. "From time to time we have incidents of aggressiveness come up. That's not uncommon in any high school environment and we aggressively pursue all calls."

Higgins said that although he is happy that the police department is investigating the complaint, he wishes it had happened sooner.

"It should not have been up to one individual to create a public outcry to the Town Council to finally have some action taken," Higgins said.

Police Capt. Michael J. Crowley maintains that the complaint was handled through the proper channels and in a timely fashion.

"The complaint was taken and investigated from the start and continues to be investigated by the department, the detectives and the officers at the community policing sub-station," Crowley said.

Higgins, who has lived in Groton for over 20 years, said he has been very impressed with the community policing efforts made on behalf of the town.

"I think it's great that the Poquonnock Bridge area has been cleaned up and has become a safer environment for kids and families. Good things are happening here and I want to keep it that way," he said.

"Officer Jim Moore has been great with these kids, and has kept a lot of them from getting into trouble," Higgins added. "He puts his heart into what he does and he is a huge asset to not only the police department but to the entire town. But he can't do it alone."