Where's the cops? Cedar Valley Neighborhood says there's more to Southeast Cedar Rapids than Wellington Heights

The city's new police chief, Greg Graham, was on the job one day this week when City Hall heard via letter from Ron Sims, the Cedar Valley Neighborhood Association. Sims was protesting what he said was the absence of police patrols in the Cedar Valley neighborhood, the Rompot Street SE area in the city's far southeast quadrant.

Sims reported a "large fight" on Rompot Street SE on June 2, a fight that featured what he called "hand-held weapons." He said it took 15 minutes to get a police squad car into the neighborhood, and he suggested the reason was that the Police Department was using its officers for other southeast Cedar Rapids neighborhoods.

Sims said police patrols in Cedar Valley have been non-existent for the last six months.

"This neighborhood is in need of daily patrols like we had a year ago because the problems are mounting to serious limits," he said. "... We do want to see a black and white patrol car drive through daily."

He said police officers provide great service when they get there. But he said he wanted to see preventive patrols, not just reaction when something blows up.