Outspoken resident and sometimes political operative Danny Dunn infuriated Mayor Adrian O. Mapp Monday when he claimed a group of young men said all they want is guns.
In public comment at the end of the council meeting, Dunn launched into a rambling speech that began with recounting an interview he said he had with the group in the West End. Quoting the youths as saying, "We need guns,".Dunn said, "These kids are angry."
In an apparent aside to police, he said , "They are going to take head shots at you," warning that "vests won't help."
Rather improbably, Dunn said the young men also asked him about bumper strips, a traffic-calming device that Dunn has requested for streets around the Hannah Atkins Playground.
Dunn urged establishment of a mini police station in the Fourth Ward and said, "You have to find the revenue to help these people."
Dunn also claimed to be quoting conversations he had with Police Director Carl Riley and the mayor, and said he had given the mayor a book called "The Bad Penny" about how to help kids.
When his five minutes were up, the council granted him additional time at the microphone and on camera for the local cable channel.
Mapp reacted by saying, "It pains me to have a citizen come before the microphone and spend seven minutes poisoning the reputation of our young people. Tell these young people to come to City Hall and talk.
"It does no good to come before the microphone to say all young people want is guns. Young people want jobs," Mapp said.
Mapp noted his administration's efforts to change the city's reputation and said of Dunn's seven-minute remarks, "That's wrong."
Councilwoman Gloria Taylor then told Dunn, "I do not in any way agree with the mayor," calling his response "pontificating" and saying, "Those of us in the city for a long time know it is not a perfect city."
Taylor said, "We shouldn't hide the truth under rocks," later adding, "That's the real world - that's what's going on in Plainfield."
After more remarks, she said, "We cannot ignore these young people who are at risk."
Taylor continued, commending Dunn and saying, "We've got to deal with these issues before they deal with us."
Councilwoman Vera Greaves disagreed.
"I live in the Fourth Ward," she said. "You can't paint everybody with the same brush. I totally disagree with you, Mr. Dunn."
Her voice rising, she said, "Because you think the Fourth Ward is less. Whatever happens in the Fourth Ward affects (Wards 1, 2 and 3.)"
Council President Bridget Rivers, who represents the Fourth Ward, said, "It kind of pains me to see you come to the mic and say that - to say young brothers and sisters are saying they all want guns. I am upset to hear you deliver that message."
"Guns do no one any good," Councilwoman Diane Toliver said. "To shoot a policeman, that's horrible."
Toliver also said the young men needed jobs, not guns.
"We need to come together and support our police," she said
"I have a young adult son," she said. "My job is to pass on to him what made me successful."
Councilwoman Tracey Brown, a pastor whose church is in the Fourth Ward, said she thought there was something to each view, but that Dunn's account referred to "an isolated incident."
She said she sees Dunn doing positive things all the time.
Taylor and Greaves got into a back-and-forth talk before resident Flor Gonzalez, president of the Plainfield Advisory Committee on Hispanic Affairs, spoke on the need for all to get together. She praised the mayor for what he is trying to do.
Resident Kim Montford recounted seeing a recent shooting victim lying in the street and said teens are "slipping through our fingers."
Near the end of the meeting, Rivers said she does believe there is a lot more to do for the youth, but said she is down in the Fourth Ward often and they do need jobs.She said she never wanted to see a child say "I want a gun."
"We want better for them," she said.
(Dunn's comments and the ensuing controversy came at the end of an otherwise decorous meeting which was recorded for viewing on local channels Comcast 96 and Verizon 34.)
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