BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY SEPT. 4, 2019) — “And the beat goes on.”

Yesterday, at 3:29 a.m., gunshots were heard at Daniels Avenue and Union Street. Police “recovered evidence of a shooting” there, according to Pittsfield police Lt. John Soules. Officer Lupisella spotted a Jeep Cherokee driven by Domingo Sobers, 28, driving away. Police say Sobers ran multiple stops signs, drove the wrong way on one-way Bradford Street, failed to stop for pursuing police, crossed all the lanes of North Street, hit a curb in the east side of North, crashed through the iron fence in front of St. Joseph’s Church, and came to a stop by plowing into a tree on St. Joe’s lawn. The vehicle was demolished.

Police say Sobers showed signs of being not sober, reporting him drunk. Looking inside the Jeep, they say they saw a 9mm handgun in plain view. Cops charged Sobers with eight violations, including illegal possession and discharge of a firearm.

Does this latest incident trouble you? Does it make you feel safe, as D.A. Andrea Harrington, police chief Mike Wynn, and mayor Linda Tyer say you should feel?

There’s only a million questions.

• Is this related to the Olivieri murder? Authorities say she was not the intended victim.
• The Sobers incident occurred in the same general area and roughly the same time of night/early morning.
• Does the evidence removed by police match the shell casings found on Columbus Avenue in the Olivieri case?
• Was a similar vehicle (Jeep Cherokee) seen on Columbus Avenue around or near the time of murder?

THE PLANET, without drawing conclusions, says there is too much coincidence.

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Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Melissa Mazzeo released the following statement regarding the lack of response to recent violence on the West Side of Pittsfield.

“Having gone door-to-door throughout the city, it’s not only the West Side that is questioning the lack of responsiveness to recent violence….it is every resident of the city, “ the candidate stated.

“I spent this past week on the West Side and one resident relayed – ‘I have lived here my whole life and have never seen it so bad’ – No one in this city should feel that way…no one. Why is the mayor not holding large community meetings? Why is the police chief not responding as to what his strategies are to combat this level of unacceptable crime? Why is the DA so incredibly slow in providing information about the recent incidents to the public? It leaves me wondering if the right-hand knows what the left hand is doing.”

Mazzeo’s comments come by way of multiple violent incidents on the West Side of Pittsfield where one resident recently commented to the mayoral candidate, ‘It’s just crazy….crazy.’

“I have looked at other communities who have successfully reduced their crime and it’s never about how many police officers a city has. It’s about how they’re used. There are models such as the Patrol Allocation Plan which was used by New York City decades ago which took their existing police and deployed them in massive numbers to neighborhoods seeing spikes in crime,” Mazzeo said. “Why is Pittsfield not doing this? In New York, the mayor and chief of police were working hand-in-hand to get crime under control. While we are certainly not NYC, it is time we start looking to other communities that have seen a reduction in crime. Rather than trial and error, we need to identify policing strategies that will keep our community safe.

“As Mayor, I will work day in and day out with our department heads to find solutions to this frightening problem. Inaction will not stand. We have too many dedicated and talented police who can and should be deployed effectively.”

Mazzeo is one of four candidates, including incumbent Linda Tyer, running for mayor. The primary is set for Tuesday, September 17th with polls open from 8a.m. to 8p.m.

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Meanwhile again, the Columbus Avenue killer or killers remain on the loose in Pittsfield, and Berkshire County residents grope in the dark. Going by the statements of the mayor, district attorney, and police chief, Stephanie Olivieri was an “innocent victim” of the 3:22 a.m. shooting. Taking their word, it means the killers didn’t get their intended target and they’re still looking. Someone’s going to be next. Don’t worry, though: The public is in no danger.

Eleven shell casings were found at the Columbus Avenue scene. THE PLANET received through sources two conflicting statements. The first said they were all from the same weapon. The second insisted this was incorrect, that the shells came from “at least” two different weapons. More ominously, were the casings from hollow-point bullets? This would bear out testimony from descriptions of the fatal head wound as “massive.”

A regular full metal jacket bullet enters the body leaving a small diameter hole, moves along an intertial path, and if it exits, leave a hole only slightly larger than the entrance wound. If the bullet doesn’t exit, it lodges deformed but relatively intact in the body. Hollow points enter the body then explode into fragments, causing horrific damage. Fragments would show up on X-rays. Did the killers use hollow points. Hollows mean business. What did the autopsy reveal? What did the X-rays show?

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The entire West Side and all of Berkshire County remains on edge. One area police source (command staff), speaking on condition of anonymity, criticized Harrington and Wynn, saying their handing has been “defensive.” He also shared the following “scuttlebutt and shop talk” (none of this has been officially confirmed, THE PLANET stresses):

• There were three people involved in the shootings.
• One of the weapons was a 9mm, thought to be a Glock handgun.
• One of the three is from Pittsfield, one is from Springfield, and the third from NY State.
• There was one gunman, one get-away driver (Jeep Cherokee?), one lookout.
• Shootings are gang- and drug-related.
• Reason to believe the non-Pittsfield two fled to Springfield.
• Pittsfield dude is believed still in town.

Harrington and Wynn have all-but disappeared. Both have a reputation in the courthouse and police station for being out of office for long stretches.

Tyer appointed Wynn ostensibly to remove him from politics, but he’s at heart a political animal. Here’s an interesting exchange from two of THE PLANET‘s commentators, Soujourner Truth and Police Report.

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SOUJOURNER TRUTH:  Many Pittsfield citizens are still confused about the internal mechanism Mayor Tyer implemented to get Chief Wynn anointed as “Permanent Chief.”

There was no cohesive information disseminated about this selection process, except that it was not part of the usual MA civil service as an applicant list had expired for the position, and that Tyer opted out of MA civil service and had her politically appointed personnel department design and administer her own version of a so called merit based testing ( civil service)and chief’s selection.
Who were the other applicants and was there a test ? Who created and graded the test, etc. ?

We’re cognizant that Chief Wynn’s politically active wife was one of Tyer’s campaign managers and that there are strong political ties between the Chief and the mayor’s political cult. His coronation ball at the museum was also a media circus and a first.
Please, if possible clarify this selection process.

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POLICE REPORT: In reply to Sojourner Truth. Originally Wynn was an interim/acting captain then they renamed him acting chief. It’s an end run around the civil service process. If interim/acting you don’t have to pick from the list, it’s not based on a score.

One of Mayor Linda Tyer’s first moves was trying to get Chief Wynn in under his old 2009 score. She actually spent taxpayer money on the appeal which is unheard of. No Mayor files a civil service appeal, the Chief does, at most an ethical Mayor would file a letter in support. The appeal denial was carefully worded to admonish her and at least reminder her to at least keep the appearance of no conflict of interest.

Since Mayor Linda Tyer’s request was denied, she then rigged the system further by adopting the “verbal” test over the written test. There were three candidates applying for the job, the written test is considered more objective and the verbal test is more subjective. It is well known that if you have a candidate in mind, do the verbal test.
That’s what was done.

Mayor Linda Tyer made some incredible statements in her letter, about the hearing, and to the news.
She called it an “injustice” and wanted them to retroactively accept a score over 7 years out of date.
She didn’t consider that it would be an “injustice” to other candidates to use a test score so out of date.
She didn’t consider it an injustice that she changed the test to favor a candidate.
She didn’t consider it an injustice to only ask for Chief Mike Wynn to get this kind of waiver, the fire department continued with an acting Chief.

Granted his wife/fiancée was not part of Mayor Linda Tyer’s inn we circle for her campaign.
Her excuse, “Law enforcement is still my priority,” because it’s not like you can ask for waivers for more than one person at a time.
This was a political appointment of a Chief who has led Pittsfield to being one of the most violent cities in MA.

Matt Hill is a great person to talk to about all of this.

Matt Hill, as the Union Rep for [police union] 447S, has gone on record, to civil service board, to the union, to the rank and file, and to the news EVERY time it’s come up. He has the unique perspective of a union delegate, trying to protect the rights of supervisors against unfair practices by Mayor Linda Tyer.  Members of the police union, who had opposed Tyer’s request, applauded the commission’s ruling.

“All we asked for was a fair process,” said Pittsfield Police Sgt. Matthew Hill, who represents Local 447S, the union for department supervisors. “We really wanted to see the Civil Service process followed.

Matt is protecting others against the “injustice” that was Mayor Linda Tyer trying to give political payola to her then campaign member’s fiancée.

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The Olivieri murder will not “just go away;” it continues to hang around and fester. The, Harrington, Wynn, and the mainstream media can pretend the story doesn’t have legs, but the public’s tangible fear says otherwise.

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“There is no ‘there’ there” — Dorothy Parker.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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