GREENFIELD — In the wake of two shootings in as many weeks, Mayor Roxann Wedegartner addressed the community Wednesday morning, emphasizing her “full confidence” in the Police Department despite budget cuts and related staffing challenges.
“We are working as hard as we can, as often as we can, to keep our streets safe,” Wedegartner said during a press conference at City Hall. “Rest assured, Greenfield Police are on duty, working day and night, to protect the city and its residents.”
Wednesday’s press conference follows three shootings in Greenfield since June 10, when officers first responded to a report of multiple gunshots fired at Leyden Woods.
“The recent gun violence episodes that have occurred, one right after the other, in the month of July are very troubling to me,” Wedegartner said, referring to a shooting incident in Energy Park earlier this month, followed by an unrelated incident at Greenfield Gardens on Monday. “I know it’s troubling to … acting Police Chief (William) Gordon and his department. It’s an unusual situation in Greenfield for it to happen so rapidly.”
Police have said the incidents at Leyden Woods and Energy Park resulted in minor injuries, and no one was injured in the most recent incident at Greenfield Gardens.
The recent shooting incidents don’t include several other calls where firearms were located and taken into custody for being illegally possessed. Gordon said his officers are coming across more illegally possessed firearms during traffic stops.
Wedegartner said while the shooting incidents may not be common in Greenfield, “it’s not unusual to see an increase in this activity in the summer months.”
“We made the conscious choice to maintain police staffing during the summer months to be able to respond to circumstances like we’ve seen over the past month,” she said, referencing budget cuts that city councilors made to the Police Department’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget. Those cuts include $400,000 for salaries, bringing the salary line down to $3.1 million, and $25,000 in expenses, bringing the total expense line to $275,000.
Gordon clarified that while the department hasn’t laid off any officers since the new fiscal year began on July 1, cuts have been made to a part-time bicycle program — which patrols parks and other areas, primarily on Friday and Saturday evenings over the summer — as well as to the outreach officer program, led by his wife, former Greenfield Police Officer Laura Gordon, who was recently hired by the Erving Police Department. He noted, however, there has been no change to the number of officers on patrol at once.
The biggest impact, he said, is the reduction in overtime. He also commented on the impact the restructuring has had on the response to these types of violent crimes. Due to budget cuts, coupled with the high cost of fuel, staffing was reduced from four single-officer cruisers to a pair of two-officer cruisers and cruiser mileage is limited to trips that are absolutely necessary to the force’s mission.
“They are manpower-intensive,” he said. “They need to have perimeters set up, they need to be able to be searching for the suspects … searching the area for evidence, collecting evidence, talking to witnesses. There’s a lot of work to be done, and when you only have four people in two cars, it’s hard to do all those things at the same time.”
Wedegartner noted the recent gun violence “cannot be blamed directly on the budget cuts ordered by the City Council” in May.
“I want you to know I am as troubled by this as you are,” she said, addressing the community. “I have full confidence in our Police Department, and we do talk regularly every day regarding how best to ensure that the people of Greenfield are protected.”
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne