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Shirt sends ominous message about drug raid shooting

A friend of a man killed by a sheriff's deputy goes to jail. What he was wearing has prompted an inquiry.

By ALEX LEARY
Published April 27, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - The front of the T-shirt shows a picture of Jarrell Walker, known as "J Brick," who was recently shot to death by a Pinellas sheriff's deputy during a drug raid.

Atop his picture are the letters R.I.P., and below it are the dates he was born and killed.

The back of the shirt reads, "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE." Below the big letters it says, "Chris Taylor killed 1 of ours. Now 1 of his must die!"

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the intent of the black T-shirt after it was confiscated from a 21-year-old man who was wearing it when he was booked into the county jail.

St. Petersburg police arrested Stanley C. Whitfield, a friend of Walker's, on drug charges last week after he ran a red light.

"Any time you see a message like this, it causes concern," Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats said Tuesday. "We're trying to assess the situation to determine what the intent is."

"If they do have some legitimate concerns," Coats added, "I don't think that's a proper way to get them addressed. I think the majority of the community agrees with that."

Word of the shirt has spread on a Web forum used by local law enforcement officers. One officer cautioned others to be vigilant even while off-duty.

Coats plans to meet Thursday with NAACP representatives and community leaders - just as he did in the wake of last year's fatal shooting of Marquell McCullough. The death sparked protests, some violent, that echoes the uprising following the 1996 shooting of TyRon Lewis by St. Petersburg police.

Walker was shot on April 12 as the sheriff's SWAT team carried out a narcotics search warrant at his house on 16th Avenue S in St. Petersburg. When Walker refused to show his hands and searched behind a couch, the sheriff's office said, Taylor shot him twice with his .45-caliber handgun.

Walker's family, friends and the Uhuru activist group decried the shooting as murder. Through angry shouts for justice, some community members have issued oblique calls for retribution.

Law enforcement officials worry the T-shirt is putting the sentiment in writing.

"I tried to tell him not to wear it," said Whitfield's older brother, Mantino Whitfield, 30. "It just gave a bad message."

"He didn't mean any harm," added Whitfield's sister, Luetwanda Nelson, 26. "He didn't make the shirt and he's not the only one wearing one. "

It was unclear Tuesday who made the T-shirts and how many have been distributed.

St. Petersburg police said Whitefield was pulled over April 21 but then fled on foot. He was caught and arrested on possession of cocaine and fleeing charges. He is being held without bail in Pinellas County Jail.

Wanda Walker, Jarrell Walker's mother, said she does not approve of the shirt but described it as an outpouring of emotion, not a threat. "Nobody's crazy enough to put a hit on police," she said. "I may want (Taylor) in jail, but I don't want him dead."

The Sheriff's Office and State Attorney's Office are investigating the shooting, the third of Taylor's career. He was placed on paid leave but returned to work as a training officer this week. He has not been reassigned to the SWAT team.

Despite its tough talk on the case, the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement said Tuesday it was not responsible for the T-shirts.

"It's just a representation of free speech," said Uhuru secretary Cassandra Floyd. "To me, it's not a declaration of war. What it is is people expressing the outrage they have for a system that doesn't give them justice."

Although the Sheriff's Office said the April 12 search warrant that ended with Walker's death was an independent investigation, the Uhurus say the St. Petersburg Police Department also is responsible. The group, which organized a protest outside the department last week, said police invited the Sheriff's Office into the city.

The raid was deemed a high-risk situation after deputies learned that St. Petersburg police had recovered several guns and large amounts of drugs at the home while executing another search warrant.

St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon agreed with Coats about the seriousness of the T-shirt. But said he also heard the concern from the community about Walker's death.

"And, quite frankly, I have some concern myself," Harmon said. "There's a lot of questions that need to be answered, and I think the community feels that way too."

Alex Leary can be reached at 727 893-8472 or leary@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 27, 2005, 00:47:14]