Wendell Butler had seen enough.
Saying his city was “unnerved” by four homicides in eight days, the mayor of Chester took the unprecedented step Saturday morning of placing the city under a state of emergency.
That meant no one on the street between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
in many areas of the city. It also means no gatherings of more than three people without a permit.
So far, so good.
There have been no incidents in the two nights since Butler instituted the crackdown, which is being carried out by city police, with an assist from state police and county detectives from the district attorney’s office.
As we’ve seen this weekend, Chester is not the only place in Delaware County suffering from the scourge of street violence. A gun battle in Upper Darby left one person dead and two others injured.
There was a fatal shooting in Darby Township Friday night.
But none draw the social stigma of Chester. Violence continues to dog the city’s image, despite its best efforts to turn that image around.
They have built a casino; they have built a soccer stadium. The hope is that in the near future they will add a supermarket.
But I’m still fascinated by something I heard Butler say a few years ago. We appeared together at some type of function. I was talking about the city’s image, and how it is affected by the way it is often portrayed in the pages of this newspaper.
Butler was asked what he thought was needed to turn around the city’s image.
I found his response right on the money.
“Until people can come into the city, go about their business, and return home without fearing for their safety, we will continue to have problems,” Butler told the group.
I couldn’t agree more.
There have been any number of rallies, vigils and makeshift shrines dotting the gun-scarred landscape in Chester.
None of them have seemed to work, to quell the violence that continues to break out.
Some people might consider Butler’s action rash, and question if it’s even constitutional.
My guess is that none of those people live in Chester.
The mayor is going what must be done.
Enough is enough. The violence has to stop.
If it takes a state of emergency, so be it.
Saying his city was “unnerved” by four homicides in eight days, the mayor of Chester took the unprecedented step Saturday morning of placing the city under a state of emergency.
That meant no one on the street between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
in many areas of the city. It also means no gatherings of more than three people without a permit.
So far, so good.
There have been no incidents in the two nights since Butler instituted the crackdown, which is being carried out by city police, with an assist from state police and county detectives from the district attorney’s office.
As we’ve seen this weekend, Chester is not the only place in Delaware County suffering from the scourge of street violence. A gun battle in Upper Darby left one person dead and two others injured.
There was a fatal shooting in Darby Township Friday night.
But none draw the social stigma of Chester. Violence continues to dog the city’s image, despite its best efforts to turn that image around.
They have built a casino; they have built a soccer stadium. The hope is that in the near future they will add a supermarket.
But I’m still fascinated by something I heard Butler say a few years ago. We appeared together at some type of function. I was talking about the city’s image, and how it is affected by the way it is often portrayed in the pages of this newspaper.
Butler was asked what he thought was needed to turn around the city’s image.
I found his response right on the money.
“Until people can come into the city, go about their business, and return home without fearing for their safety, we will continue to have problems,” Butler told the group.
I couldn’t agree more.
There have been any number of rallies, vigils and makeshift shrines dotting the gun-scarred landscape in Chester.
None of them have seemed to work, to quell the violence that continues to break out.
Some people might consider Butler’s action rash, and question if it’s even constitutional.
My guess is that none of those people live in Chester.
The mayor is going what must be done.
Enough is enough. The violence has to stop.
If it takes a state of emergency, so be it.
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