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Residents seek emergency call boxes at Bunker Hill Park; mayor cites false alarms, pledges restroom cameras
Summary
Neighborhood leaders urged the Waterbury Board of Aldermen to add two "blue light" emergency call stations and a uniform park-closing time after a summer shooting; the mayor said officers found the incident isolated, warned the towers draw false alarms and said permanent restrooms with cameras tied to the real-time crime center will be installed instead.
The Waterbury Board of Aldermen heard a request on Jan. 8 from the Bunker Hill Neighborhood Association asking the city to reconsider a resolution seeking two emergency "blue light" call stations and a uniform closing time for Bunker Hill Park.
Ron Napoli, vice president of the association, told the board the neighborhood is generally safe but that a summer shooting there left residents shaken. Napoli asked that the board "reconsider your previous action of receiving our request and place it on file and look further into the possibility of giving us those two blue emergency stations." He acknowledged the cost implications and said the association did not expect towers in every park, but at least at the park's more isolated walking track.
Mayor Paul K Perusi Jr. responded that the shooting was an isolated dispute between people who knew each other and said the police responded quickly. He said the city has reviewed blue-light towers with the police department and found they produce recurring false or push-button calls that require responses even when nothing is happening. "The reality is that in 2024-2025 we don't get any meaningful calls to the police department over those things," the mayor said, adding that "people push the buttons and they walk away."
Instead of installing blue-light towers, the mayor said the city will install permanent restrooms at Bunker Hill Park that include cameras connected to the police department's real-time crime center. He described that system as likely to be "far more effective at understanding what's going on in that park and making the responses better." City staff and aldermen also discussed targeted lighting at a particularly dark corner near the planned restroom site while noting the park's original design limited general overnight lighting to avoid encouraging late-night activity.
The board did not take a formal vote specifically on adding blue-light towers; members voted, by voice, to receive related requests and to proceed with park improvements under usual review and budgeting processes. Aldermen asked staff to consider localized design adjustments and to bring lighting recommendations back to the board.
What happens next: The mayor said restroom construction (with camera linkage to the real-time crime center) is proceeding; aldermen requested that staff report back with any lighting design proposals for the park.
