South Hanover Street a growing problem area

When asked if South Hanover Street has become the new Good Hope Street in terms of being a chronic problem neighborhood, Cape Girardeau Police Capt. Carl Kinnison said the situation hasn't escalated that far. However, he said it is an ever growing concern.

"Certainly we don't see the crowds in that area that we saw on Good Hope," Kinnison said. "We don't see 200 to 300 people; maybe we see 20 or 30. In that sense, it is a significant difference."

Good Hope was the nexus for crime in south Cape Girardeau for several years. But with increased police attention and the closure of a club that many considered the primary source of discord in the area, things improved to the point where the police department closed its Good Hope substation earlier this year.

Kinnison said the rise of the 300 and 400 blocks of South Hanover as an open-air drug market, primarily for crack cocaine, has been a gradual development. The department is aggressively pursuing drug investigations in the area, he said.

"We will continue to make arrests until we get the problem solved," Kinnison said.

Until last week, Fay Beal lived on South Hanover and frequently reported disturbances and suspected crimes in the neighborhood to police. Although she was planning to move to rural Cape Girardeau this fall because of her impending marriage, the deterioration of the situation in the area where she had lived for 12 years prompted her to speed up her departure.

"I suspected there would be another blow up, so I just moved on," Beal said. "Things are really bad down there."

The "blow up" Beal referred to occurred on the Fourth of July when police responded to a report of fireworks being shot at a house in the 400 block of South Hanover. An altercation between police and bystanders resulted in an officer being struck in the head with a metal object. Police Tasered one man for resisting arrest and used pepper spray on two women whom police say attempted to interfere with the arrest.

Some of the people involved in the incident have filed a complaint with the police department claiming officers exercised excessive force and used racial slurs. The injured officer received stitches for his wound and was immediately back on the job.

Beal credited police with responding to her past complaints but said their actions had little lasting effect.

"They would come, which would kind of help to disperse the crowds, but they never did anything," Beal said. "They just showed up."

Kinnison said the department is working with area residents to address the situation but said some are afraid report suspicious activity.

"You have to understand many residents are hesitant to report for fear of retaliation or their safety," Kinnison said.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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