Years After Vernon Curfew Tossed, Manchester Official Revisits It

VERNON/MANCHESTER, CT — Fifteen years and two months after a curfew was ruled unconstitutional in Vernon, a member of Manchester's board of directors was calling for one in her town to combat a rash of vehicular break-ins.

Minority Leader Cheri Eckbreth celebrated the arrests of two teens connected with some of the break-ins this week by saying the bust was, "One for the good guys," on the Manchester CT Message Board Facebook page.

She later told the Hartford Courant that Manchester officials "should at least discuss" a curfew to keep thieves off the street at night.

In June 2003, a federal appeals court overturned a Connecticut trial court decision to keep a Vernon curfew in place. It was a case argued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut.

The Vernon ordinance prohibited anyone younger than age of 18 from being outdoors after 11 p.m. on school nights or after midnight on weekend nights, with some exceptions.

Vernon police force veterans still quietly say the curfew helped cut down crime in town.

The curfew would have applied to the driver of stolen car arrested this week in connection with a rash of car burglaries in Manchester. He is 17 and a 19-year-old was with him. The two were also connected with car burglaries in Vernon and South Windsor, police said.

See the details here.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

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