CHIEF SAYS SHOOTING WILL NOT DETER DRUG UNIT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- New Haven Police Chief Melvin Wearing says members of
the department's Street Interdiction Unit will continue confronting drug
dealers, despite the shooting of Officer Robert Fumiatti.

The unit is charged with identifying drug hot spots, disrupting low-level
drug dealers and keeping street corners clear. As part of their work, the
plainclothes officers in the unit drive up to narcotics hot spots and chase
drug dealers who are often armed with guns.

Fumiatti was shot in the face while taking part in one such operation
Thursday night. His condition was upgraded Monday morning at Yale-New Haven
Hosptial from critical to serious.

Wearing pledged he would not allow the shooting of Officer Fumiatti to
derail the squad and the work it does. The team's work has resulted in a
reduction of violent crime citywide, he said.

"Our job is to keep the community safe," Wearing told the New Haven
Register. "I find that the street interdiction team works well."

The unit was revived without much fanfare two years ago after years of
being dormant.

Patrol officers receive temporary transfers to the unit, where they work
with veteran detectives in raids and street-level enforcement. Stints on
the interdiction teams last 90 days.

While there, the patrol officers gain experience in conducting drug raids,
writing search warrants affidavits, surveillance and other detective skills.

Their work leaves the narcotics detectives free to focus on mid- and
high-level operations, Wearing said.

"It is a desirable assignment for a lot of cops," said Sgt. Louis G.
Cavalier, the union president. "But certainly the element of danger is so
much greater."

Fumiatti, a 31/2-year member of the department, had been on the team for
two months. Normally, the detective bureau received about 10 officers at a
time for the team and rotates them out every three months.

When Fumiatti was shot, he was with at least nine other officers in a van
after conducting a house raid. They were driving through the Hill
neighborhood when they spotted a drug deal, Wearing said.

The van stopped and the officers began piling out Fumiatti was shot.

Acting on tips, police arrested Arnold Bell, a man identified by court
officials as a career criminal, several hours later.

Wearing said the arrest came as a result of the department's connection
with the community and commitment to community policing.

"The street interdiction team will continue," Wearing said. "This is a law
enforcement agency and we're going to enforce the laws of this community."