STAMFORD, Conn. — A recent sexual assault and murder have prompted Stamford, Conn., to arm seven parks with a Blue Light Emergency Phone with a video surveillance camera on top.
A 30-year-old woman was sexually assaulted on Oct. 16 while jogging through Cove Island Park. The woman could not call 911 on the scene because she didn’t have her phone, forcing her to run home before she could report the attack, according to NBC Connecticut.
“If she had been able to go to that Blue Light camera, she could have notified us immediately and gotten the police response there much faster,” Stamford Mayor David Martin said.
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Video surveillance footage would also have helped police find the man who attacked the jogger, who is still at large.
“That would have meant we would have had a recording of the assailant when he left the park and therefore we would [have] a clear picture and she could ID, ‘This is the person that attacked me in the park,'” Mayor Martin said.
This past week, 43-year-old Maxine Gooden was shot and killed at Lione Park.
While there are concerns over privacy issues, Mayor Martin said the cameras feeds will only be monitored when police are trying to identify criminals.
The phones and cameras will cost approximately $150,000.
