In an effort to prevent violence at the impending West Indian American Day parade and J’Ouvert festival, NYPD police in Brooklyn sent “cease-fire” warnings to 40 gangbangers in the borough this week.
According to police authorities, dozens of the letters were distributed ahead of Monday’s annual celebrations in Crown Heights, which have frequently been marred by violence.
According to Chief of Patrol John Chell, Assistant Chief Charles McEvoy, who is in charge of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, “and his team have already done some mitigation factors with some gang members and cease-fire callings — letters sent out,” said a news conference.
At least 40 letters were distributed this week alone, according to Chell, just days before throngs of celebrators were expected to descend upon the borough to honor Caribbean ancestry and culture.
The letters were intended to convey a straightforward message to the gang members: “Hey, be [on] your best behavior,” Chell said.
Chell announced on Thursday that the NYPD will install light towers in neighborhoods close to the parade route that have historically seen a lot of violence as another measure to dissuade criminality. Parade attendees will have to travel through one of the 13 checkpoints set up along Eastern Parkway, and they could be randomly searched, according to police authorities.
