ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The city of Rochester endured another weekend of violence, with the Rochester Police Department responding to shots fired and shooting incidents.
Additional patrols from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office supported the RPD over the last few days.
Minutes after Sgt. Greg Wildman started his patrol, gunfire erupted in the city. He's one of four Monroe County Sheriff's deputies pulling late-night, overtime shifts in Rochester, where violent crime is up and RPD staffing is down.
"Our mission here is primarily, number one, officer safety -- to help RPD out with officer safety by being available to help them,” Wildman said. “Number two, We want to do high-visibility crime deterrence patrols. So we want to put police cars and police officers where there is a higher likelihood of violence. And three, we want to help them out on the serious crime investigations. So really, those are the goals.”
On this night, backup was needed at a shooting, after police say multiple shots were fired on Garson Avenue and a 19-year-old was shot. Sheriff's deputies were called in to assist.
The RPD said backup support is much appreciated, especially on warm weekend nights like this one.
"They're fantastic partners,” RPD Capt. Sam Lucyshyn said. “We very much value our partnership with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office as well as the New York State Police. They're a very welcome sight. You know, as you can imagine, for every single deputy that's helping us here, that's another Rochester police officer that can go and serve the residents of Rochester in some other way. So it's a huge help, I'm very grateful to see them."
Police said the gunshot victim from Garson Avenue is expected to survive.
Residents of Rochester who heard the gunfire and feared for their safety said they're seeking change.
"It's hard out here for a lot of us, you know,” Chaz Wilkerson of Rochester said. “Everyone thinks it's every man for himself. But personally, I feel like if we could all come together and really actually get to understand each other we could prevent this from happening a lot."
The additional police support is part of detail currently scheduled through June and likely to last through the summer, with the recent announcement of an expansion of the team effort.
"We're here to support them,” Wildman said. “If you're a Clinton Section boss, do you want your cars tied up on traffic points for this crime or do you want them to be able to do other things."