Fed up, South End man turns camera on crime

Carlos French was sitting at his computer in his South End condominium when he heard the rapid fire of gunshots crashing past his kitchen window upstairs.

A bullet lodged in the air conditioner by his mother's bedroom. The 70-something woman, he said, was frightened for her life during the shooting between the occupants of two cars Wednesday night.

''At first, she thought it was the cabinets crashing down," said French, 36, a real estate agent who moved into the Victorian building on the corner of Shawmut Ave. and West Newton Street last year. ''But I knew what it was. It was 15 to 20 shots."

French, who said he's been assaulted and has been stolen from several times since the move, has had enough.

In May, he installed a video camera to record the thieves who kept stealing the headlights from his 2000 Acura. But the camera's lens also captured other activities happening on the street. And now French has a video library of drug deals, gun violence, and other crimes plaguing his street corner, including the latest barrage of bullets.

He wants Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Police Department to install a surveillance camera on the roof of his building.

''It would certainly be a deterrent for crime," he said, pointing out that he has installed cameras in his living room and kitchen.

In a neighborhood known for its high-end restaurants, luxury townhouses, and diverse population, his street corner doesn't appear exceptionally dangerous.

But just as it boasts of a dazzling view of the Prudential Center near Copley Square and a location within walking distance to the Huntington Theater and other high-end destination spots, the area is also a hot spot for crime and violence, police officials said.

''There's a lot more work being done by the Boston Police Department to identify and focus our resources when we see an increase in crime," said a police spokesman, Sergeant Thomas Sexton, ''In this particular community, there was an incident involving gunfire, and we sent a squad on bicycles the very next night."

French moved into the Shawmut Avenue condo with his partner and his ailing mother last August, and the problems began soon after. Next door, on West Newton Street, French said, a group of people would hang out on a stoop, where they laughed, talked, and sometimes fought until at least 3 a.m. One night, French went outside with his video camera and told them to keep the noise down. The group wrestled his camera away from him.

''I know, it was stupid, but I thought the camera would scare them," he said. ''As we were talking, I could hear two kids saying, 'Let's get him; let's get him,' in the background."

They gave him his camera back in exchange for the recording.

Soon after, French had other problems, aside from the usual sounds of gunshots and chatter in the middle of the night. Someone stole the headlights from his 2000 Acura in February 2005, not once, but twice. A few months later, he installed a camera to watch his car.

''The people next door thought I was watching them," French said. ''So they started throwing bricks at the window."

French said he explained the situation to his neighbors, and for the most part they were understanding.

''There are good law-abiding people who live there," he said. ''It's just a small group of people who are causing the problems. I am not going to be forced out of my home."

Some of the neighbors on Shawmut Avenue call him a hero.

''He really picked up the torch and wasn't afraid," said Randy Zinkus, who has lived in the neighborhood for the past 10 years.

But not everyone is thrilled about the idea of a camera watching every move on the corner. ''I don't like that somebody feels that they have to go that far," said Sandy Martin, coordinator for the South End Lower Roxbury Youth Workers Alliance, a coalition of youth advocacy programs. ''But I can't judge an individual for trying to keep his family safe. What we need is some other way to promote safety throughout the city."

Still, after French's air conditioner stopped a bullet from landing in his kitchen Wednesday night, Boston police Captain Robert Flaherty, commander of District 4, plans to meet with him Tuesday, and some city councilors have also contacted French about his mission.

French hopes the conversation will lead the police to install a surveillance camera on the roof.

But police say that won't happen anytime soon.

''It is an option, but it's not the only option," said Sexton. ''The police commissioner will not install any police camera without the complete support of the community's residents and the neighborhood in question."

Officials from Menino's office declined to comment.