Off-duty officers to patrol 700 Stockton St. apartments - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

Some people living in a Richmond apartment complex, which was a crime scene earlier this year, are breathing a sigh of relief this month. Residents of the building, where two brothers were killed reportedly over dog droppings, will now see off-duty police officers patrolling most days.

Those officers will roam both the inside and outside of the property at 700 Stockton Street. The Richmond Police Department hopes the effort will cut down on the calls for service there and prevent the senseless violence that claimed two lives in April.

At 3 a.m. on Richmond's south side, the area around 700 Stockton Street is relatively quiet, but inside it could be an entirely different story, as it was on April 18th.

It was not the kind of scene you want in the place you call home. Officers and detectives swarmed the area after two brothers were reportedly shot and killed during an argument about leaving dog droppings in the complex hallway.

"I'm traumatized," one resident told us. "I'm not comfortable here."

One suspect has been found guilty; the other goes to trial next month.

The double homicide wasn't RPD's first contact with those apartments. So far this year, there have been 295 calls to the South Side address, 35 of them in this month alone. The incidents include everything from burglary to noise complaints.

The question for LTV. Jason Hudson became: Where do we go from here in a place in constant need of police attention?

"We try to make our resources in the areas that we see that need attention and work towards making that a better quality of life for those citizens," he explained.

That's a tricky goal there.

"An apartment complex is normally open where we can ride around a little bit and observe the activities of the citizens there," Hudson said. "This is a little different as far as it's in a closed facility."

Hudson maintains even if he were to assign officers to specifically patrol the area, there could be things happening inside they wouldn't be able to see from the street.

Now, the off-duty officers are on-watch between 1 and 5 am most days.

"One of their roles and responsibilities is to monitor the activity on the outside as well as the inside, do routine patrols inside so they can be seen," Hudson added.

He also says complex management has been responsive to police and willing to allow the off-duty officers on grounds. The goal is to have a presence seven days a week.

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