Police presence in village addressed at board meeting

Police presence in village addressed at board meeting

BROCKPORT - While Village of Holley officials and its residents are pondering the decision to disband, or keep, their police department, the Village of Brockport is faced with dealing with busy weekends filled with crimes - some petty, others more serious.

During the November 5 board meeting, Trustee David Wagenhauser read an e-mail sent to Police Chief Daniel Varrenti from a college student who had concerns with an occurrence on Main Street when he couldn't find an available police officer for assistance. Varrenti and other department heads are excused from the first board meetings of the month.

"Where were the police?" was the question asked by the student, when, while driving down Main Street, other college students were congregating in the road, darting out into traffic and running into passing cars. "I drove around the village trying to find a police car, to no avail," he wrote in his e-mail message, which Wagenhauser read.

Varrenti responded to the-mail that was read by Wagenhauser, "It was a typical very busy Saturday night for us," he wrote. "Even with increased staffing and officers in on overtime, it is difficult to keep up with what goes on in the village that plays host to 8,000 more residents while college is in session ..."

Wagenhauser went to the police department and pulled up the reports of what the officers were covering that night when the complainant was looking for an officer. "In part that night, with three officers on duty, they were covering criminal mischief calls, loud parties, a burglary, an assault, various fights at various locations, a DWI arrest - that takes two officers' time to deal with - a vice activity, a transport with the Monroe County Sheriff's office, and the list goes on," he said. "This ain't Holley. We have problems here and they are not just from the college students but from people who come from outside the area and cause problems."

When that student asked, "Where are the police," Wagenhauser said, "They are out keeping the residents of this village safe."

Wagenhauser reiterated the chief's plea to always call 911 if there is a problem and he (Varrenti) urged residents to do that and not drive around seeking the assistance of an officer.