CITY STEPS UP POLICE PATROLS
State, county officers to aid city in wake of gunfire incidents
Stepped-up patrols on city streets will be highly visible as law enforcement teams up in wake of recent gunfire eruptions and other violence, officials said.
During a Facebook live stream on Thursday, Mayor Steve Noble said the extra patrols involving Kingston officers, state police, and deputies from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office started on Thursday.
Noble said the effort is part of a wide-ranging law enforcement 10-week program that will include the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. Noble described it as “team-orientated police work.
“We are going to see more of these officers on our streets than we have really seen in quite some time, Noble said. “As you drive through Kingston, as you visit Kingston, you will notice this ...”
Noble said he and the police department would publicly report on the progress of the effort.
The Kingston Police Department posted an announcement of the effort on its Facebook page Thursday.
“Beginning tonight (Thurs
day) and over the next 10 weeks, additional patrols will be added to the city through a partnership made up of KPD, NYSP and UCSO,” the posting said. “Troopers, officers and deputies will be assigned to proactive details in an effort to make our community safer.
“This effort is directed towards the elimination of gun violence,” the police department said. “We hope that progress can be made towards breaking the cycle of drugs and associated violence while building a respectful dialogue with the community.
“In addition to the uniformed patrols, our Special Investigations Unit will be working closely with the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the DA’s office will be assigning an Assistant District Attorney to help prepare cases for prosecution,” the posting said.
On Monday, Noble and Police Chief Egidio Tinti announced the 10-week stepped-up law enforcement program.
The most recent gunfire took place when a shot was fired Wednesday morning during a fight among “multiple individuals” in the area of Henry and Pine Streets, city police said.
Kingston police responded at about 9:25 a.m. to a report of shots fired in the area, according to a police post.
An investigation found that it “was not a random incident, but a dispute between multiple individuals that escalated into a shot being fired during the confrontation,” police said.
Wednesday’s incident follows a rash of gun violence — mostly shots being fired at houses or vehicles and not injuring anyone, and one fatal shooting in the city since March. There was also one fatal shooting each in the months of October, November and February, and two teens were shot in their legs at a city apartment complex.
On Sunday night, shots were fired at the house at 34 E. St. James St., and a car parked outside the house. The same house was shot at in February.