A lack of lighting in the 4th ward meant that police had a hard time finding evidence—and even locating the body of Ibn Futrell—after the Bloomfield man was shot to death on Mission Street on Tuesday night.

This was just one disturbing piece of information released during a community meeting Thursday night that drew Police Chief David Sabagh and a wide variety of town leaders.

The meeting was designed to address persistently high crime rates in the 4th ward just days after the shooting death of Futrell in front of the Mini Mart on Mission Street at Bloomfield Avenue.

Residents made many demands of officials, complaining that lights in the towns of Bloomfield and Verona grow dimmer as one drives into Montclair. Others argued that more cameras and community policing are needed to combat decades of extreme violence in the 4th ward.

"I'd like to see the township of Montclair make a commitment so that the safety of this neighborhood is a priority," said 4th Ward Councilor Renee Baskerville.

The evening, that drew a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 200 people, started on a somber note when Baskerville asked everyone to grab their neighbor's hand for a moment of silence.

"My heart bleeds for Ibn Futrell's family," said a clearly emotional Baskerville.

Sabah said he's confident police would find the person responsible for shooting and killing Futrell just after 9 p.m.

"We've made a lot of headway in the last few days and I expect at some point we will solve this," he said.

Sabagh explained that the department uses crime statistics when deciding where to place police officers, but admitted that budget cuts have resulted in fewer officers overall.

"We deploy resources scientifically and crime rates are the lowest they've been in Montclair in four years," he said. "I realize when you have a homicide those numbers mean nothing. We've reduced crime in Montclair but we certainly haven't eradicated it."

Simply put, he said, there can't be an officer on every corner.

On a positive note, Sabagh said he has gone to the township to seek funds for a new community policing initiative, one "that although smaller in scope compared with what we've had, would be more mobile and could be taken right into a community, address the particular issue of that particular neighborhood, and then move onto other neighborhood."

He said he was confident money for this program would be found.

Sabagh said he's also working to increase the number of cameras positioned around town.

"We can monitor activities on streets and at building," he said. "And they record. This has been extremely helpful. I'd like to see more of them."

In addition, police officers will continue to meet with those who want to form neighborhood watch groups, he said.

Township Manager Marc Dashield also said he's working to arrange a meeting between PSE&G officials and police officers to talk about lighting in the 4th ward.

But residents, and even Baskerville, complained that the issue of violence has come up again and again, year after year, and that few actionable measures are ever implemented.

They argued that prevention also is key, noting that a curriculum needed to be initiated in the town's schools that would point out the pitfalls of violence.

Demonstrating just how violent the neighborhood has become was the owner of the Wood Pit Barbeque on Bloomfield Avenue, Lawrence Hackney, who said he'd been offered a gun on more than one occasion.

"In the last 12 months, I've had at least three to four people come into our shop and offer to sell me a gun because they needed the money for other things," he said.

Not only did Thursday night's meeting—organized by the Montclair NAACP and Baskerville—draw a huge community response, but it also attracted many leaders and officials including Mayor Jerry Fried, Deputy Mayor Kathryn Weller-Demming, Councilor Roger Terry, former Mayor Bob Russo, Fire Chief Kevin Allen, Deputy Police Chief Todd Conforti, Luther Flurry, head of the Montclair Center Business Improvement District, and various candidates running for office in May's local elections including Karen Turner, Robert Jackson, and Rich McMahon.