Police clarify ‘misinformation’ on social media
FAIRFIELD — Police on Sunday addressed what the department called “misinformation” that has been circulating on social media about recent incidents in town.
The clarification involved several incidents last week, including one at the Charles Schwab offices on Post Road. Police said on Sunday various social media posts misinterpreted the police actions used during this incident.
Police responded around 6 p.m. July 21 to the business on a report of a man holding a gun to the head of a woman at the business offices. However, it turned out that no one was ever there with a gun, police clarified on Sunday.
“Per policy and best practices, and based on the information available to police at the time, immediate and aggressive police actions were the appropriate means to ensure the best chances of preventing loss of life,” police said Sunday. “As new information was received and developed, tactics were tailored and dialed back as appropriate. The police response to this incident was neither overplayed nor excessive, and the miscommunication was not on the part of the Fairfield Police Department.”
Police said various social media posts have misinterpreted the police actions used during this incident, clarifying there was a miscommunication between Charles Schwab employees and their security service.
Investigators learned that a Norwalk resident, also a Charles Schwab client, went into the Fairfield office and told an employee about an alleged domestic violence incident that involved a gun being held to a person’s head.
A supervisor notified the security hotline about the statements, which led to what police called “a miscommunication” that brought in law enforcement expecting an active scene.
Police Sgt. Sofia Gulino in Norwalk said officers received a request for a welfare check of a Norwalk resident that said they were involved in an abusive relationship.
“This person did not appear to be injured, or in any distress,” she said. “We responded to the home of the resident and received no response. We left a message for the individual.”
She said there was no further information.
In a separate incident, Fairfield police responded to a report from a parent that two juveniles on a Vespa used a BB gun to shoot at his 13-year-old daughter around 9:30 p.m. July 23. The parent said the child was unhurt, and that neither he nor his daughter wanted to speak with an officer.
The investigating officer found the Vespa and two juveniles. One of them told police they were using a water gun against friends, the other said it was an air-soft gun that fired water-filled beads. When the officer tried to get more information from the parent who reported the incident, the man reiterated that he did not want to speak to police. There was no further enforcement action taken, police said.
The department said it also continues to investigate the unsanctioned car show from early July that led to three arrests, as well as the ongoing problem of ATVs and dirt bikes being driven recklessly throughout town.
“Amidst such instances, there is often a desire from the public to witness police exact instant justice, but this is not in the spirit of 21st century policing and is often in conflict with new laws,” police said. “(K)now that anytime there is a true public emergency, the Fairfield Police Department will use a variety of methods to alert the public and the press in a timely manner with information about the emergency, the actions police are taking towards resolution, and methods the public can use to keep themselves safe.”