This is a msg from Bob Acuff, the moderator of the EN Crime Listserve, regarding the typical fireworks season in East Nashville.
We are just weeks away from the typical spike in neighborhood fireworks. Here are some tips that have worked for myself and othersto decrease the amount of illegal fireworks.
1. Learn to tell the difference between fireworks and gunshots.Firecrackers go off in a very erratic cadence, like popcorn popping.Bottle rockets have that swoosh sound followed by a pop high in the air. Fireworks go on for at least 15-30min. Gunshots have clear indivdual pops, there may be as many as 14 pops as fast as the trigger can be pulled on a semi-auto pistol. Revolvers usually hold 5-6 shots, they are usually fired, 2 then 3, 2-4, something like that. Even a gangbanger shootout will only last 2-3 minutes.
2. If it is fireworks go investigate, walk around the block, get in the car, windows down, look & listen. Police need an exact address, and they will have to actually see or hear the firworks. This means report the fireworks when they are happening early in the evening before police get busy with domestic violence, drunks, stabbings, and all the other crap they have to deal with. Send the address to me I'll get it to your zone officers via Sgt Ogren. They can Bolo over the next few weeks. They give the violators a warning, before they are charged
.3. Where do fireworks come from? There are plenty of guys, buying huge quantities out of the county and bringing them back into neighborhoods,housing projects to sell. A neighbor tipped off the police to one of these jerks a couple of years ago. He was selling them like ice cream out of the back of his truck near Rick's market.We had a peaceful summer after that.
4. You can't wait until the end of June to start this. fireworks are a hazzard/annoyance to everyone living in an old house or who has dogs/cats.
5. Fireworks can mask and interfere with police/neighbor efforts to get those shooting guns off our streets.
6. If someone wants to do a fireworks display, they can get a permit and have a designated time, place, to do it safely. They won't allow two weeks before and after the holiday.
Eastwood Neighbors is a charming, urban residential area characterized by early- to mid-20th century single-family residences and multi-family units representing a range of architectural styles. Eastwood Neighbors, Inc. is a non-profit organization established in 1992 by community members.
