Recent assaults near Yale prompt concern

On Thurs., Sept. 24, Margie Klein, DC '01, was robbed at gunpoint in front of the Silliman master's house on Wall Street. Though police claim the event was unusual, a recent series of crimes committed on and around the Yale campus has begun to cause concern.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Yale police have made no arrests in the robbery of Margie Klein, DC '01.

Klein was walking to Timothy Dwight College around 11:30 p.m. when a man approached her and pointed a gun at her belly. He then pushed her into the Silliman master's driveway, demanding her money. Klein fumbled in her backpack for her wallet, but had trouble finding it. She said she repeatedly told the man she was looking for the wallet so he would not get upset.

"I just kept talking the whole time, but I guess he got impatient anyway," Klein reported. "He said, `Hurry up,' and moved the gun to my head."

After taking the $16, the man told Klein to turn around and walk away, warning her that he would shoot if she looked back. Disoriented after the ordeal, Klein said she was halfway home before she thought of going to the police. She went to the Phelps Gate substation, where she was questioned and gave what few details she could recall of her assailant.

Although Acting Chief of University Police James Perrotti stated that incidents such as this one are "infrequent," he said the University Police will see if any heightened security measures are needed in that area. Directory of Campus Security Jack Gundrum concurred, although he stated."No new additions to physical security are presently in the works."

On Tues., Sep. 29, a Yale-New Haven Hospital worker was shot in a parking lot across from Yale-New Haven Hospital. Perrotti emphasized, however, that the shooting was not random, and therefore does not represent a threat to campus safety. "That victim knew the perpetrator," he said.

Perrotti reported that crime has declined considerably in his 26 years with the Yale Police. "Street robberies were normal; now they're really the exception," he said. "Still, we want to get to the zero level."

After Klein gave the police her statement, she was asked to describe her assailant. "I didn't really remember what he looked like, since at the time I was afraid he'd shoot me if I was too obvious about seeing what he looked like," she said. Klein described the perpetrator as a six-foot-tall black male of slight build, between 35 and 40 years old, wearing dark clothes.

Klein and an officer then drove around in an unmarked car, hoping to spot the man on the street. They stopped two men, one whom they chased for almost 10 minutes, but neither was the perpetrator. Klein said the whole process "repulsed me because it made me feel so racist." She noted, "We drove around New Haven looking for people that fit that description, but basically that meant every black man on the street."

Despite Klein's perception of racism in this process, Perotti firmly denied that any individuals are singled out because of their race. He said that the police went strictly by Klein's description, which included clothing and build.

"We do not stop people based on race," Perrotti insisted. "People of all races have been stopped."

Perrotti also noted that when officers stop pedestrians, they generally explain the reason for the inquiry, make the encounter as brief as possible, and thank the citizen for his or her cooperation. So far, police have not made any arrests in Klein's case.

"They're still looking," Klein explained. "But they really doubt they'll find the person. It could be anyone."

The University Police use many tactics to ensure safety near the campus. "We target areas where we see some problems. We use plainclothes officers, radio cars, and patrolmen on bikes," Perrotti said. He added that patrolling officers often stop suspicious individuals seen in the area.

According to Perrotti, police are constantly updating their approach to keeping Yale safe. "We will look at the data in Crime Analysis to see where crimes are occurring and focus patrols in those areas," he said.

As for Klein, she claims she learned an unsettling lesson. "I definitely feel more unsafe now. This showed me you can't be totally carefree." Yet she added, "It's not worth it to worry [about safety] too much," she said. "I don't think there are many ways this could have been avoided."

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