Massena resident expresses frustration over ‘drug house’ in West Hatfield

MASSENA – The number of police officers in the villages has remained the same over the past two decades, but the number of calls has nearly doubled, leaving resources stretched and residents angry.

At the September 18 board meeting, trustees and villagers weighed the pros and cons of hiring more staff in light of the increased call volume.

Doug Dilcox, a resident who lives with his wife on West Hatfield Road, expressed frustration with what he described as “a drug house” next door during the second public comment period of the board’s Sept. 18 meeting.

Dilcox said vehicles were driving in and out of the West Hatfield property throughout the week, noting that larger drug shipments appeared to arrive at the end of each week.

He said he and his wife had been patiently following the police investigation, but added that two years had passed and no action had been taken.

“I understand that this is difficult and it takes a lot of time for the police to gather enough evidence, but the fact that we're waiting for an outside police agency to make an arrest has a huge impact on the quality of life in our community. Right now. There's a pile of trash on the side of the road that the village can't pick up. It's been there for two weeks. There's an even bigger pile, two piles of trash in the back yard that have been there all summer. It's a dump,” Dilcox said.

He described the comings and goings of people and said they were “not even shy.”

“I've sat on my porch and watched the drug dealing on the driveway. Twenty feet away. There was even curbside service and they're now using Springs Park, which I don't think our police officers patrol enough. We have kids down there in the park and there are drug dealers, drug deals are going on while the kids are in the park with their parents,” he said.

Dilcox said the matter frustrated him to the point where he even asked Olson to sit on the porch with him so he could look at the situation himself.

Police Chief Jason Olson reiterated an earlier point from the meeting, saying he was well aware of the situation but noted that the department was overwhelmed at times due to limited resources.

“I hear every word you say, and I would like nothing more than to have the staff to be able to do everything we want to do in this village to clean it up. I would like nothing more. It would require a tremendous amount of manpower. It's not the taxpayer's fault, OK, this is the direction society has gone,” Olson said.

In July alone, Massena police responded to 799 emergency calls, issued 20 uniform tickets, conducted 67 traffic stops, made six mental health arrests, 18 criminal arrests and handled five car accidents, Olson said.

He also said detectives took on 18 new cases, adding to their existing workload. They also executed four search warrants, arrested 10 felons and 11 misdemeanors while working a special task force on a Walmart theft. They also seized 225 grams of cocaine and 140 grams of methamphetamine.

Olson also pointed to legislation passed in Albany that strips law enforcement of the power to do their jobs effectively.

While Dilcox acknowledged that the legislation had made the task more difficult, he noted that if nothing was done to fight back, there would be no village left worth fighting for.

“The condition of our village is deteriorating to such an extent that I am very afraid,” he said.

Dilcox, a retired correctional officer, said he cannot sell his home given the current situation in the neighborhood.

“I'm stuck. Who's going to buy my house considering what's happening next door? There's no shadow on it. It's so obvious,” he said.

“I'm not going to disagree with you, but I can assure you that we are doing everything we can with the resources at our disposal. I know that's not what you want to hear,” Olson said.

“I've tried to be cautious, but honestly, I'm ready to fight back. If you can't do anything about the dealers, then of course I can harass the customers. I'm at the point where I'm ready to harass the customers and do whatever I can to drive them away,” Dilcox said.

“I never said there was nothing we could do. I said our hands were tied. You make your decisions as adults, and that's fine. But I can assure you that the idea that nothing is being done is completely false. When I was a detective, my cases took 36 months. Three years. That's ridiculous, and that was over 10 years ago,” Olson said.

However, Dilcox said he believes not enough is being done.

“If this continues, there will be no village left for us to fight for,” he said.

Then former mayor Jim Hidy intervened in the election campaign and said that if citizens wanted change, it would start at the ballot box.

“This is a blue state, OK? And all the (southern) legislators are Democrats,” Hidy said.

Then Mayor Greg Paquin intervened and said that as mayor he had hired three police officers.

“I'll add more. Hey, I'll add five more. But when you get the tax bill… I'll add ten more. That's always the problem. That's the point Ken was alluding to. I can help and really bring this problem to its knees very quickly. But the price will be astronomical,” Paquin said.

“It all starts in Albany,” Hidy said.

“Jim, I'm not here… I don't care, I don't care. I care about this community. If you want to talk about Democrats and Republicans, go somewhere else. That's just stirring up trouble,” Paquin replied.

“Whatever you’re doing, it’s not working, and the man just told you that,” Hidy said.

“How many officers did you hire when you were mayor, Jim?” Paquin asked.

Hidy, who served as a major from 2010 to 2014, did not respond.

“They haven't had the problems we have, and we're doing our best,” he said.

Trustee Ken McGowan then commented on the matter, saying that the number of applicants had declined, leading to a nationwide shortage of police officers.

“All the communities in this county are short of police officers. We no longer have young people who want to get involved and serve their community. So the problems are astronomical by any measure. So if you have an answer, please let me know,” Olson agreed.

As the public comment period ended, Paquin told those in attendance that the council would continue to work on the issues.

“It feels like we're just sticking our fingers in the holes in the dam, but maybe I'll grow more fingers. I don't know. We'll do our best. That's all I can promise,” Paquin said.