La Crosse neighborhood activist fed up with drug dealing activity

Resident sounds off on the area around Poage Park

Jason Devine’s been down this road before, defending his neighborhood.  

Drug dealers move in and the La Crosse neighborhood pushes back. It’s happening again. Devine says he’s getting what seems to be an all-too-familiar lack of concern from law enforcement.

“To get through dispatch, it seems like you have to negotiate with them to get them to come over here,” Devine said. “They ask a lot of questions, but they don’t seem too concerned about it.

“Seems to be a half hour to 45 minutes before anyone shows up. In that time frame, a lot of things change when you’re witnessing something first hand.

“(The drug dealers) have little or no reason not to (take over the block), because they really don’t seem afraid of the police,” Devine said.

“When you’re half a block away and you have people lining up to buy their dope, I sense there’s going to be some major problems,” Devine said. “I’m afraid child’s going to get hurt. Maybe someone in my household or one of my neighbors. You never know.”

Police captain Jason Melby says Devine’s neighborhood is a very high priority for enforcement and says recorded response times show police are moving swiftly to deal with issues there.  He says officers can be limited legally in how they can stop, search or arrest someone for suspicious activity based only on allegations by a witness.

Records show there have not been any recorded contacts between Devine and the police since before last year.

Devine tells us he’s considering moving somewhere else – probably out of the city.