Westfield Police Up Patrols After Armed Robbery, Is It Enough?

WESTFIELD, NJ - The Westfield Police Department has increased their presence at 24-hours businesses after the armed robbery at the 7-11 last Friday, but for some residents, that doesn't go far enough to solve the problem.

The live feed comments of the Mayor and Council meeting Tuesday were littered with concerned residents expressing dismay over the danger they see in allowing the convenience store to remain open continuously. Two of those residents came out from behind their keyboard to address the governing body directly.

"In all the years that I've lived in town, 18 years, we've never had an incident like this," Jen Blasey said.

Blasey referenced concerned residents packing meetings for months on end in 2016, fighting to restrict the 24-hour operation of the convenience store. An effort which got them nowhere. That point was elaborated on by Blasey's neighbor Sean Mullen, who walked everyone in attendance through a timeline of his involvement in the process.

"I was here last month after the vehicle was stolen that was then used in an armed robbery in Irvington and I asked at that point that things be addressed. Everyone was polite and smiled and nodded and that was nice to hear but now we're back again within 60 days we've got another incident," Mullen said. "I was here in 2016 and at least four of you who are on this dais now were here when I was here pretty much begging you to do something about this. And you were all very polite and you smiled and you nodded and you said thanks for your time."

Mullen said he gave Administrator Jim Gildea data he had compiled that showed that 24-hour convenience stores in the area were prone to being robbed.

"It seemed like a no-brainer. Why would we let a business open up in our town that has a history of being robbed? But everyone was polite and nodded and thanked me for my time. They took the data and I don't know where it went," Mullen said. "I met with the code review committee who smiled and nodded and thanked me for my time. I provided them with all the data, FBI crime data, that showed that robberies at convenience stores were increasing on a yearly basis. Convenience stores were not good to have in neighborhoods. Convenience stores are dangerous places to work. And convenience stores in our local area get robbed."

Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro said he was proud of the work the department did on the case and making the arrest, and Mullen made a point of thanking the them for their efforts.

"I feel safe with the Westfield Police Department," Mullen said. "I don't feel safe with 7-11."

For his part, Battiloro said the police department was looking to make additional changes.

"I am willing to work with the Mayor and Council on any issue that will improve public safety and help deter such future criminal acts at any location anywhere in town," he said. "While our officers routinely frequently visit 24 hours establishments during the overnight hours, I have since directed them to begin initiating random, routine checks of all 24-hour establishments throughout the night. Furthermore, we are considering the implementation of other, additional, proactive measures which seek to deter such criminal activity. Please have every confidence in your police officers and rest assured that we are doing our very best to protect you, your families and your property."

While Mullen acknowledged the efforts of police, he did not agree with the assessment made by Battiloro that the community was not in danger.

"I know we can sort of qualify that in different ways but when you have armed people in your neighborhood that are committing felonious acts, throwing their weapons out in the neighborhood, engaging in foot pursuits or vehicle pursuits with our local police department, we're in danger," Mullen said. "And frankly every day this place stays in business we're in danger. So you've had two felonies in the last 60 days, and that is only the stuff we know about."

Mullen said the town let down the community.

"This is a classic example of residents being let down by their town. We were let down by your (mayoral) predecessor, we were let down by the Code Review Committee, we were let down by the Planning Board, we've been let down at every stop," he said. "Classic example of the government letting us down, ignoring our concerns and looking at a business rather than a neighborhood and letting this place open up."

Mullen said the time to study the problem to find a solution had long past.

"Frankly we're out of time to study this anymore. We don't have time for blue ribbon commissions, we don't have time for targeted studies," he said. "This doesn't need to be done with any significant brain trust, or experts or Harvard studies. We need you to do something and do something about this now."

Mullen mentioned the more than two dozen children under 18 who live within one block of 7-11 location.

"So we're at risk, our children are at risk," he said. "So please do something."

Mullen referenced lawsuits and ordinances from nearby communities like Cranford, but much of what Mullen was seeking was ultimately overturned in court. That is not to say the governing body offered nothing.

Some on the council, including Mark LoGrippo, said that they fought for overnight restrictions back in 2016 but were ultimately unable to gain traction.

"We're going to look at it again," LoGrippo said.

Mullen said no one from 7-11 was present at the meeting to offer an explanation.

"You know why they're not here? Because they don't care. They're here to make money. They came to Westfield to make money," he said.

Councilwoman Dawn Mackey said she is seeking a meeting with the owners of the 7-11 franchise.

"We are all going to work together aggressively to take any legal action we can and be creative and approach this from a multitude of solutions not the least of which I will be personally inviting 7-11 to come for a meeting because they have recently expressed a desire to be good neighbors, and I am going to hold them to that," she said.

Mackey said she did not see any reluctance from the governing body to find a solution.

"I do believe we are going to move this forward in some way and if there is any legal way to restrict these hours and not put the town in legal peril we would all be in favor of that," Mackey said.

Mayor Shelley Brindle agreed.

"We are all taking this seriously and we will work together to the best of our ability," Brindle said. "We're committed to finding a solution."

(Photo courtesy of David Allen/Patch)

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