On August 6, 2024, the Tolland Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office, Hartford Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office and the Litchfield Judicial District State's Attorney's Office participated in National Night Out, an annual community-building event that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. The first annual National Night Out was in 1984 and has been held on the first Tuesday in August in thousands of communities across all 50 states.
Members of the Litchfield Judicial District State's Attorney's Office, led by State’s Attorney David R. Shannon, met with three neighborhood block watch groups throughout Torrington and discussed a wide variety of topics from concerns about crime to how police can help citizens keep block watch groups most effective in their communities.
Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Austin, Jr., of the Hartford Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office, along with members of the Community Partners in Action (CPA) staff from the Hartford Community Court, attended National Night Out events in Goodwin Park and Keney Park in Hartford. They met with a variety of community members and police to talk about the services offered to defendants at Hartford Community Court and the many community service projects that have been completed in the city by defendants in community court cases.
“As the State’s Attorney in Hartford, I am fortunate to have prosecutors who are dedicated to strengthening the bridge between community and law enforcement,” said Sharmese L. Walcott, State’s Attorney for the Hartford Judicial District.
The Tolland Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office joined dozens of community organizations at this year’s National Night Out event in Rockville. The staff of Tolland Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office purchased school supplies for area students for the upcoming school year and snacks for students and their parents.
“It was a great opportunity to interact with the community outside of court,” Tolland Judicial District State's Attorney Matthew C. Gedansky said. “We were able to spend time with people who appear in our court as victims of crime, or as defendants, as well as their families, and also members of the general public. And without talking about specific cases that may be still pending, it was a wonderful opportunity to spend time together merely talking. We passed out all of our school supplies for the upcoming school year and the snacks that had we provided.”
Prosecutors also used the event to bring attention to cases from the Tolland County Cold Case Squad - the disappearances of 7-year-old Janice Pockett, who vanished from her Tolland home on July 26, 1973, 13-year-old Lisa White, who was last seen walking on Prospect Street in Rockville on November 1, 1974 and Debra Spickler, 13, who went missing from a park in Vernon on July 24, 1968.