Obvious damage in the St. Petersburg disturbance can be totaled easily, but other costs may only appear later.
By LEANORA MINAI
Published May 21, 2004
[Times photo: Willie Allen Jr.]
Cars, such as this one burning at 18th Avenue between 28th Street and 29th Street. and other vehicles were frequent targets during last week's disturbance in St. Petersburg. Police report at least 60 vehicles were damaged by bricks, bottles or concrete. Mary Jo Melone: Beyond race, shootings raise issue of judgment
Comparing the unrest
Oct. 23,
Nov. 16, 1996
May 12, 2004
Injuries
23
16
Arrests
86
20
Arsons
76
7
Arson damage
$3.1 - million
unknown
Sources: St. Petersburg Police Department and area hospitals
ST. PETERSBURG - Christopher Roth's face was so badly beaten during last week's civil disturbance that he needed reconstructive surgery.
Clothing store owner Jin Pak lost $10,000 in designer fashions.
Travel agent Janet Merritt, unwittingly caught up in the chaos, said in the future she will steer customers away from St. Petersburg.
"If someone's deciding between there and Fort Myers, I'll probably send them to Fort Myers," said Merritt, whose rental car was attacked by a mob during her visit from Tennessee. "Maybe it might be better to go elsewhere for now."
A week after violence erupted in the city's Midtown area, more details have emerged:
At least 60 vehicles were damaged by bricks, bottles or concrete.
At least 17 businesses were burglarized, and seven arsons were reported.
At least 16 people were treated at hospitals.
Although members of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in St. Petersburg were demonstrating in the area before the May 12 violence erupted, the 20 people arrested are not tied to the group, said St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon.
"I don't know of any Uhuru affiliation," Harmon said.
During the 41/2-hour ordeal, officers were shot at. Some motorists were sent on detours that put them face-to-face with angry rock throwers. Small business owners lost thousands of dollars in merchandise to looters.
The damage and injuries were considerably less than the fallout from two nights of violence in October and November of 1996, after a white officer fatally shot TyRon Lewis, an 18-year-old black man, during a traffic stop.
But in 1996 and last week, about 200 protesters participated in the street violence. And the backdrop was the same: the Lewis case.
On May 12, attorneys for the survivors of Lewis were wrapping up arguments in a wrongful-death lawsuit that had made it to court after seven years of legal maneuvers. The city won the case two days later.
"There was just a lot of tension out there," said police Maj. Cedric Gordon, who oversees the Midtown area where the violence occurred.
Harmon said Thursday the department is preparing a report that will assess injuries, damage and police response to the violence.
"Whatever the genesis of this issue was, unless they were promoting criminal activity it may not warrant criminal charges or any charges," Harmon said. "You have some dynamic individuals around this country who can get people keyed up."
Of the 11 adults arrested last week, four have been released from the Pinellas County Jail on bail, and one pleaded no contest to a loitering and prowling charge.
Among those out on bail is Darin Talbert, who police say yanked 20-year-old Christopher Roth out of his car and beat his face with two beer bottles and a chunk of concrete.
Police spokesman Bill Proffitt said Roth was driving with a passenger at 12:08 a.m. May 13 when they pulled into a gas station at 22nd Avenue S and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street.
"After they pulled in, there was some crowd that descended on the car and began attacking Mr. Roth," Proffitt said.
A detective in the area saw the attack and moved in to help.
Roth, of St. Petersburg, underwent facial reconstructive surgery Thursday. His family declined to comment.
Roth was one of several motorists who got trapped between King Street and 34th Street S and 18th Avenue and 22nd Avenue S.
Police received at least 60 complaints from motorists who said they were bombarded with rocks, bottles or concrete. Some sustained cuts and were treated at hospitals.
At least a half dozen were tourists, including John Boxall of England. Bricks dented both sides of his rental car as he drove back to St. Pete Beach after a Devil Rays game.
"We were scared to death," said Merritt, 38, the AAA travel agent from Tennessee.
She wasn't alone.
John Galbraith, 51, was driving home to Sarasota after eating dinner in St. Petersburg. He said officers directed him off 34th Street and onto 22nd Avenue S.
"It was bam, bam, bam, bam, bam," he said. "I felt something on my right side. I thought I had been shot. I reached down, and there was this huge concrete brick between me and my arm rest."
Galbraith said his 2001 Buick Le Sabre sustained $4,000 in damage. His windshield and passenger window were shattered. "The one thing I am most upset about is that I went in the direction the police told me to go," he said. "They should have had that whole area blocked off."
Harmon said he could not comment on the police detours until the report on officer response is complete.
"We did the best that we could under the circumstances," Harmon said, "But we always wish we could have done more."
Officers also were targets of the angry mob.
Officer Richard Kirby's cruiser was hit by a brick and bottle as some in a crowd of 75 to 100 chanted, "Kill the killer police!"
Later, several people in a pickup truck were arrested after four officers in a squad car said they shot a round at them. Another officer reported a bullet hole in the trunk of his squad car.
Despite the violence, some business owners and city officials are trying to remain optimistic.
Jin Pak, owner of L.A. Fashions, said he has not recovered the $10,000 in designer fashions taken by looters who crashed a car through his storefront.
"We just want to go back in business and forget about it," said Alexander Hall, assistant manager.
Deputy Mayor Tish Elston said staff will visit with businesses hurt by the unrest.
"This is not your typical day in St. Petersburg," Elston said. "We have a very safe city."
Mary Jo Melone: 