Sounds of silence thwart police work

It is the sound that every police officer knows all too well.

No, not the sound of gunshots. That goes with the job.

We’re talking about the sound that often follows gunfire. Silence. Police in every city and town encounter it.

One example occurred last weekend after a shooting incident in Upper Darby.

Here’s what police know. There was a large party on the 500 block of Glendale Road. At some point, some kind of altercation broke out. A 17-year-old boy tried to leave the scene. Several men chased him out of the house. Shots were fired. The teen was fatally wounded.

Here’s what police don’t know: What happened at that party, what sparked the altercation and who was involved in the shooting.

In other words, pretty much everything they need to investigate the case.

How could this possibly be, when police theorize there were no less than 30-40 people at the party, and yet no one saw anything.

Actually, that’s probably not accurate. No doubt lots of people saw what went down at the party. They’re just not talking about it, at least not to police. There were literally dozens of people at the party.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood said not one person was willing to talk to police and tell them what they know.

It is known on the street as the “not snitching.”

Upper Darby is not the first place it has happened; it won’t be the last.

Chitwood, not one to hold his tongue, is not amused. In fact, he’s irate at what happened on the streets of his township Saturday night. A young life gone in an instant of madness.

But he’s almost as irked by what happened after the incident, when his officers responded to the report of shots fired.

Chitwood said when officers approached the home where the party took place, no one would even come to the door.

“At first they refused to answer the door,” the top cop said. It went downhill from there.

“They subsequently started yelling, screaming and cursing at the cops. They did not want to say anything.”

Chitwood said eventually people inside started to come out one at a time. Nobody offered any information to police.

The only witness to speak was the person who called in the initial report. That person, who was not at the party, reported hearing three shots.

The “no-snitch” tradition is not new. Police deal with it often in investigating homicides and shootings. There is both the notion of fear on the part of witnesses, as well as, sadly, not cooperating with police.

A strong police presence is one thing, but police officials in or towns maintain the effort to control crime has to involve everyone in the community. That includes residents.

“Until they come forward, the neighborhood won’t be safe,” Chitwood said. “No matter how you address it, that’s the bottom line.”

It’s the bottom line not only in Upper Darby but everywhere.

It’s easy to take shots at police these days. We’re talking about the verbal kind. Every time another incident of what appears to be an overreaction involving a police officer hits the internet, it goes viral. Voices are raised in the community to complain of excessive force, a lack of empathy, and profiling of some members of the community.

No doubt, in some of these instances, the complaints are warranted.

But it can’t be a one-way street.

Officers investigating crimes – in this instance a seemingly senseless shooting that snuffed out the life of 17-year-old kid – can’t do it alone.

They need the community to come forward and tell them what they know.

Until they do that, until they partner with police in taking control of their communities, the streets will remain unsafe – for both police and residents.

The choice belongs to residents.

They can continue to remain silent, and wait for the next shooting, or they can come forward and tell police what they know – and begin to retake their neighborhoods.