By Stephen Janis
Along the seasonally festive avenue crowded with holiday shoppers this past weekend, a group of residents urged passersby to sign a petition to bring back something absent for 4 years: police officers directing traffic.
The petitioners, who describe themselves as “Safety First” advocates, told The Sentinel they had garnered 500 signatures Sunday afternoon.
The group wants to restore the uniquely Greenwich tradition of stationing officers at several of the town’s busiest intersections to guide traffic. The policy was abandoned in 2020.
But the practice of having officers directing pedestrians and sometimes remonstrating a stray motorist or hurried shopper who failed to heed their instructions remains popular, they argued.
“We’ve been very busy,” said one of the organizers.
The petitioners are not alone in hoping officials will bring back officers to the town’s main thoroughfare. Longtime business owners said the officers added an element of community and character to the avenue which has been missing.
But it’s not clear that town leaders are prepared to restore police officers to the traffic posts.
Police Chief Jim Heavey told The Sentinel removing officers from traffic duty was the result of staffing challenges and a successful shift in policing strategies.
Although he has statistics to back it up, the emotional issue is firmly rooted in those who want the officers back.
“It’s ridiculous you can’t cross the street and people don’t feel secure walking around with their nice things,” said Michale Pappa, owner of Michelangelo’s, a popular gift shop that has been serving residents for 45 years.
“I would say 90 percent if not 100 percent of my customers want them back.”
Margo O’Brien, Chief Operating Officer of Diane’s Books, another local retailer that has been on the avenue for decades, says she worries about her 85-year-old mother Diane. The business’s namesake and owner walks to work and often encounters aggressive drivers.
“I’ve walked to the store with her and people screech to a halt,” she said, describing how motorists often ignore the crosswalks since officers departed.
“I miss that old friendly feeling in Greenwich of having somebody there, a public servant,” she added.
Part of the issue residents and business owners say, is the often confusing and sometimes precarious balancing act between vehicle traffic and pedistrians. Crosswalks have been narrowed to slow motorists, town officials say, but heavy traffic on the Avenue means drivers can be aggressive.
“There are near misses everyday, they never stop at the stop signs,” said a woman who answered the phone at a business adjacent to a crosswalk who did not wish to be identified.
“I am so frightened for the people walking down the street.”
Chief Heavey went on to explain that the reallocation of officers allowed the department to deploy officers to a specialized patrol unit that targets retail crime.
“Instead of having officers stand in a white circle 8 hours a day, we have a bike unit that can respond downtown when needed,” Heavey explained.
The unit, known as ORCA or Organized Criminal Retail Association, includes half a dozen officers who ride electric bikes and patrol downtown. The strategy shift allows for a more proactive approach to curbing downtown crime. It has led to multiple arrests for shoplifting, identity theft, and fraudulent returns.
“It’s just not a practical thing to have an officer stand in the circle and not be able to leave when he or she could address real emergencies,” Heavey added.
Heavey says ORCA has made roughly 125 arrests this year, including thwarting a shoplifting ring that tried to obtain cash by returning large amounts of stolen merchandise to a popular local retailer.
He attributes this success to having officers focused on responding to crimes in progress and working more closely with retailers.
“It’s a better use of the resources.”
But the filers handed out on the avenue disagreed. They touted an increase in crime and a threat to pedestrian safety since the officers were taken off traffic duty.
“The absence of stationary police on the Avenue has increased shoplifting, and burglaries, and are forcing merchants to hire costly private security,” the flier proclaimed.
