It’s quite an image. Orthodox Jews on mountain bikes…protecting their neighborhood…packing heat.

And that’s exactly what’s happening in New Haven’s Edgewood neighborhood after a number of robberies and muggings.
Rabbi Dov Greer was attacked outside his home on Elm Street Sunday, and that’s when he and his brother Eliezer said “enough is enough.” They formed the “Edgewood Park Defense Patrol,” and now, they’re hopping on mountain bikes every night patrolling their neighborhood.

Good for them. They seem to be concerned citizens who apparently love where they live, and want to preserve and enhance the quality of life there.

The problem is the guns. Yes, they are licensed to carry them, and yes, they are concealed. But whether they have faith in the police department (they say they don’t) or not, I have to question the wisdom of being a “do-it-yourself police officer.”
They say they aren’t vigilantes, and that’s fine. But what happens the first time they see a robbery or a mugging in progress? They’re human beings carrying loaded weapons. The adrenalin kicks in…and then what? This isn’t Gomer Pyle making a “citizens’ arrest.”

There seems to be far too great a chance to do bad while they’re trying to do good.
Oy.