Family members of two men who were shot and killed in separate incidents this March said they would be happy if Ansonia offered cash rewards for crime tips.
“If that’s what it takes (to get info) that’s fine with me,” said Shawn Venson, the father of Daryl Venson, who was shot and killed on Root Avenue on March 9.
Their feedback could be looked at during a larger review of the proposal for Ansonia to offer cash for information leading to arrests.
Board of Aldermen President Stephen Blume said he will appoint members next week to a new committee that will review the proposal.
The committee will include two aldermen — John Marini and Peter Danielczuk — and two police Commissioners — Bruce Goldson and Frank Tyszka.
The committee will review which other cities offer cash rewards, whether they result in more viable tips, and how Ansonia might eventually oversee such a program, if it ever came to fruition.
“This needs to be studied,” Blume said Friday. “This thing was brought in front of our board. But you just can’t go doing whatever you feel like. They need to have input on this.”
That input needs to come mainly from the police commissioners, Blume said, because they are the ones who would be dealing with the rewards and tips.
The Debate
The Board of Aldermen has been debating the proposal since Alderman Marini proposed it in June.
Among concerns from some aldermen:
- Do rewards actually prompt more, and accurate, tips?
- Is setting a reward demeaning because it puts a price on someone’s life?
- How do you decide which crimes to reward information about?
Click here to read the story about the board’s debate in July.
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As part of the proposal, Marini suggested giving $2,000 for each of two murders in Ansonia this spring, and $1,000 for information about a spate of vandalism in June.
Family Input
Part of the concerns dealt with how family members would feel knowing a dollar amount was put on their loved-one’s life.
“The value of the reward is nothing compared to what my son’s life was,” Venson said.
So, under that reasoning, Venson said any dollar amount would be looked at as a favor to his family.
That was the same sentiment of Margaret Rivera, whose nephew Isaia Hernandez was shot and killed a week after Daryl Venson. Police do not believe the shootings were related, and are investigating both.
No arrests have been made.
“It doesn’t offend me at all, because right now we have nothing,” Rivera said Friday. “To offer $10, or $2,000, or $2 million, if it’s going to bring someone forward, I say go for it.”
Venson’s family has offered its own reward — and has posted fliers throughout the Valley advertising the fact. Shawn Venson said the family has gathered money together, but won’t disclose how much until someone comes forward with information that leads to an arrest.
Street code often means that people who have information about a crime won’t tell the police, for fear of retribution, Rivera said.
“They need to start speaking out and pointing a finger at the people who we know are committing these crimes,” Rivera said.
Venson is also looking for closure that comes from understanding what happened to his son.
“I want to find out what happened that night,” Shawn Venson said. “I want to know why my son was there. I want to know why they did what they did.”
