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Two approaches to the drug problem?

Is the Sheriff's Office still more aggressive than St. Petersburg police? Some see it that way.

By ALEX LEARY
Published November 9, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - In the late hours of Oct. 16, members of the Pinellas County sheriff's SWAT team made a surprise visit to the Walker home on 16th Avenue S. They knew it well.

Months earlier, deputies had raided the house and one of them shot and killed 19-year-old Jarrell Walker, sparking a public outcry that harkened back to the controversial killings of other young black men in St. Petersburg.

This time, though, the bust went without incident. Deputies arrested Jarrell's mother and brother on drug charges.

"They felt they were safe because the sheriff wouldn't dare come back," Sheriff Jim Coats said. "My position is, we should not ignore folks who possess and sell illegal drugs."

The return visit raises questions about the role the Sheriff's Office plays in St. Petersburg and whether the city's police force is able to handle its own problems.

While sheriff's narcotics operations in the city have remained steady for the past two years, drug arrests stemming from routine patrols are up. In 2002, there were 10 arrests. This year there have been 51.

To some, it is a welcome trend.

"When the Sheriff's Office comes in here, they do the job and they bust people," neighborhood activist Lorraine Margeson said. The Police Department, she said, is not as effective because of staffing shortages and a "hands-off attitude of enforcing the law in some parts of our city."

Chief Chuck Harmon dismisses such talk, pointing out the recent creation of the Street Crimes Unit to combat drugs. He said he is generally pleased with the relationship with the Sheriff's Office.

Still, shortly after the deadly raid in April, Harmon made subtle but public criticism of how it was handled, saying he had "concern" and "questions." In that case, Deputy Christopher Taylor said Jarrell Walker refused to show his hands and that he feared that the 19-year-old was reaching for a gun.

Harmon pointed out that the sheriff has jurisdiction over the entire county and that other agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, also work cases in the city.

Mayor Rick Baker made the same point when asked recently if the sheriff's involvement showed a lack of confidence in the ability of the Police Department to handle a big problem.

"Not at all," he said.

In both cases, sheriff's deputies gathered information about the Walker home through operations outside the city. Harmon said the agencies could improve communication and that he and Coats have talked about that.

Other cities in Pinellas have the same relationship with the Sheriff's Office, even assigning an officer to the sheriff's narcotics bureau.

"We've probably had as good a relationship with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office as we've ever had," said Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor. "The more resources that can be thrown at this problem, the better."

Sheriff Coats also spoke positively of the working relationship with St. Petersburg and said he will not waver from the mission of combatting drugs. "We have an obligation to enforce the laws," he said.

But the relationship has not always been cozy. The agencies endured some high-profile squabbles in the late 1990s that had the sheriff pulling deputies from the city and the chief saying the Sheriff's Office should butt out.

In 1996, then-Sheriff Everett Rice pulled six deputies assigned to the St. Petersburg police station after the city asked his agency to help pay workers' compensation for an informant injured in a joint narcotics operation.

Two years later, then-Chief Goliath Davis angered Rice and Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe when he rejected a $100,000 federal grant to weed out drugs in black communities. He said the money should be used to treat addictions and to "seed" opportunities.

Rice countered that he'd take the money and send his deputies to St. Petersburg.

The city eventually agreed to accept the grant, but tension between the law enforcement agencies was evident and Davis' critics said he was soft on drugs. The feeling has lingered among some city residents who think the department, even under Harmon, has been reluctant to aggressively enforce drug laws.

Some police officers and residents blamed the drop in drug arrests on low morale, staffing shortages and a fear of petty discipline from an unsupportive administration.

It was Harmon who reached out to the Sheriff's Office shortly after being hired in late 2001. "I would like to go back and establish that bond," the chief said during a community meeting where residents complained of the drug problem.

Harmon held meetings with the sheriff and by April 2002, the relationship seemed fully repaired.

Rice said at the time: "We're going to be focused in the city of St. Petersburg because the chief of police is asking that we do it, and it's part of my responsibility. The public wants something done, and I'm going to be there to help the Police Department."

The Walker shooting in April brought new attention to that partnership. In its charged aftermath, some residents, including members of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, demanded that the Sheriff's Office withdraw from the city. The Uhurus made the same call after the latest raid at the Walker home.

So far, the demand has gone unheeded.

Staff writer Carrie Johnson contributed to this report. Alex Leary can be reached at 893-8472 or leary@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 9, 2005, 00:39:17]