POLICE WALKING A FINE LINE

Albany Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Hartford's North End, has played
host for months to open drug markets and escalating gunplay, including two
drug-related homicides in June.

Friday afternoon, Taeza Johnson looked out on "the avenue," as it is called
by the locals, and saw a team of state troopers and Hartford police
officers stopping cars at a checkpoint.

On one hand, Johnson said, the sight of more police officers makes her feel
better. On the other, she said, more cops can create more anxiety.

"You've got all these police out here, so the chances that they'll be
hassling people are even greater now," she said. "They need to remember
that not everyone is a criminal just because they live in Hartford."

The collaborative police effort is intended to crack down on soaring
drug-related violence in the capital city, capped by the accidental July 4
shooting of 7-year-old Takira Gaston, who suffered a bullet wound to the
face in what police believe was gunfire between two drug dealers.

"It's like a war zone out here," one man said Thursday after police rounded
up several people on a street corner in a search for drugs. Nothing was
found, but police checked everyone's identity before sending them off.

Others who hang out on the corners of the North End said they have seen the
beefed-up police teams rounding up people and ordering them to their knees
in long lines, apparently without cause.

"It's just a matter of time before the cops take it too far," said one
young man standing at Albany Avenue and Vine Street Friday. "Just because
there's more cops doesn't mean you're safer. I'm more afraid of the cops.
At least if a civilian attacks me, I can defend myself. But if it's a cop,
there's nothing I can do."

Johnson, who has a 14-year-old son, said she fears the crackdown may
overstep its bounds and, in the process, do little to address the root
causes of the area's drug traffic.

"A lot of the problem is people coming from outside Hartford [looking] to
buy drugs or sell drugs or guns," she said. "They should be looking for the
people who aren't from here."

Johnson said her son already feels intimidated by the police, a feeling
shared by many young people in the community.

"I want him to respect law enforcement, but when they can stop him and
arrest him even when he's done nothing wrong, I can understand why he's
afraid," she said.

Hartford police Sgt. G. Malik Merritt, who oversaw the Albany Avenue
traffic checkpoint Friday, said he is aware of some of the concerns.

"We may push the envelope sometimes, but I make damn sure that nobody
bursts the seams," he said. "The avenue has been out of control for too
long, and people have been asking us to do something about it. That's what
we're doing."

Some police critics said the crackdown is flawed because it offers a
solution that is too heavy-handed.

"It's martial law on the streets of Hartford right now," said Nicholas
Carbone, a former deputy mayor who frequently spars with the police
department. "You think these state troopers and Hartford officers who live
in the suburbs care about the people who live in these poor neighborhoods,
much less their rights?"

Carbone and other department watchdogs said the purpose of the joint
operation, which began Tuesday, is a worthy one. But they urged police to
do more than just round people up and chase suspected drug dealers.

"The best way to police neighborhoods like these is to get to know the
people who live there and build up good local intelligence and networks,"
he said.

So far, no one has filed a formal complaint about police using excessive
force during the crackdown. But with so many officers on the street, the
risk has become greater, Carbone said.

"They need to be careful to avoid thinking that Hartford is an institution
and the residents are the inmates," he said.

Since the operation began, police have reported making more than 100
arrests for a variety of offenses while seizing several ounces of crack
cocaine and heroin.

Police said the officers and troopers assigned to the crackdown are well
aware of the rights of the people they encounter on the streets.

"Violent crime is up and we're out there making the city safer in the best
way we can," said Hartford police spokesman Lt. Neil Dryfe. "This is what
the people of this city have asked us to do."

Many residents, in fact, have expressed relief that police have become more
visible recently.

"The more, the better is what I say," said one woman, a Magnolia Street
resident who asked not to be identified. "I don't think the police can
solve all the problems here, but at least they can make it so I feel safe
coming out of my home."

James E. Willingham, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater
Hartford, whose office is on Albany Avenue, said residents have to expect
some inconveniences from police if they want to see crime go down.

"If I have to choose between police and the drug dealers, I'll choose the
police," he said. "You have to give up something to get something."