Chief seeks unity in drug war

As Mack Vines takes on the city's drug crimes, the police union says not enough officers are on patrol.

By LEANORA MINAI

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 7, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Officer Doug Weaver pulled the crack from the bottom of the young man's jacket pocket, a dozen pieces of hardened cocaine wrapped in plastic.

The man took off down the dark alley, Weaver chased him and smacked his head on the pavement while tackling the suspect. Soon, a crowd gathered, taunting the officers, yelling that Weaver had pulled the crack from his sock and planted it.

"I'm lying there, I'm bleeding, and they're more concerned about the guy selling drugs," Weaver said from a local hospital as he recovered from a minor concussion. "All we got was the, "F--- you, cracker.' "

Though relations between police and the African-American community have improved during the four-year tenure of former Chief Goliath Davis III, the continuing contentious relationship is now Mack Vines' challenge. Vines took over Friday as chief of police. In that job, he also will contend with drug-related crime and the Police Department's low morale and staffing woes.

For the most part, St. Petersburg is a safe city. The overall crime rate is down, which wasn't so in 1974 when Vines began his first stint as the city's police chief. But now, just like then, the department is fighting a war on drugs.

"We have to be in this together," Vines, 63, said last week. "We all have to work together."

As in most urban areas, drug dealing is a common complaint of St. Petersburg residents. Crack. Marijuana. Heroin. All are in high demand. Near the corner of 12th Avenue S and 12th Street, men wave down cars and offer their wares.

"All of our kids know where the drug centers are," said Gustave R. Victor, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and associate pastor of Dominion Worship Center Church of God. "Stop and ask any kid, and they'll say, "Oh, it's over there.' "

Could the city be doing more? Fewer drug arrests have been made so far this year compared with the same time period the last two years.

Davis said narcotic arrests through August of this year are down 22 percent compared with 2000 because more houses are being searched for drugs. The dealers, he said, have been driven off the streets.

Although three months remain in the year, calls about drug law violations indicate that the pace of calls is slightly down for 2001.

Jack Soule, patrol officer and union president, said he does not agree with Davis' logic.

"There's a direct relationship between the number of officers you have working narcotics and the number of arrests," Soule said.

The reality is that hitting the streets and handcuffing dealers create the greatest potential for civil disturbances.

"Truthfully, I don't think that Davis did enough on arresting the drug dealers," said Jim Biggerstaff, president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations. "I don't think that we have really made that a priority."

Police union officials say the city needs more officers in the street narcotics unit. Though the department has slots for 21 uniform officers devoted to looking for drug violators, only 12 to 15 work the streets some nights.

"It's a safety issue," said street narcotics Sgt. Karl Lounge, who works the most-blighted neighborhoods.

Vines said he does not want the community to see police as "storm troopers." To fight illegal drugs, he plans on saturating hot spots with cruisers.

"Buyers won't buy, and dealers won't deal," he said. "If they move, we move with them."

Most of this year's 16 homicides have drug undertones. And 10 of the victims are black.

Whether drug-related or not, black-on-black homicide remains a huge challenge for police. The city's youngest murder victims have all been black men -- ages 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. And all but one of the suspects in those deaths also are black.

Jonathan "J-Fade" Davis is the youngest. He was shot in the back in July after a fight at a gas station. He won't be by the side of his 15-year-old girlfriend when she gives birth to their daughter.

To fight black-on-black crime, the NAACP and area ministers recently formed a coalition called the Nehemiah Project, named for the biblical prophet.

"Nehemiah said, "Let us go and clean up our own neighborhood,' " said Victor, the interdenominational alliance president. "Don't wait for someone else to do it. Do it yourself."

Business owners and residents will be asked to sign a contract, stating they will not tolerate drug sales and will allow police to enforce laws.

"We believe that drinking, drugging, idle loitering and congregating on street corners is violence in the community, both physical and psychological," said Darryl Rouson, a St. Petersburg lawyer and NAACP president.

The city of 248,232 residents has enjoyed the ripple effects of a healthy economy. The overall crime rate has dropped 4.4 percent.

Officers answer burglar alarms more than any other service call. Many are false alarms, triggered by storms or faulty wiring.

Teenagers also are keeping officers busy. They are getting more adept at stealing cars and teaching friends, contributing to a cyclical and frustrating auto theft rate.

Speeding and red-light running also are top concerns.

Consider:

Twenty-three people have been killed in traffic-related accidents this year.

Traffic-related accidents are St. Petersburg's third most frequent service call.

The city ranked fifth in the nation for deaths blamed on red-light running, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Though that statistic may be as much a function of the city's median age and popularity for winter visitors, it remains a thorn in the side of residents who worry that the streets are becoming too dangerous.

Wally Cravens has lived in St. Petersburg 10 years. He wants Vines to hire more officers and assign them to work only traffic.

"It's getting to the point where if your wife backs out of the driveway, you don't know whether you'll see her again," said Cravens, 71, a former neighborhood association president.

Davis became the city's first black chief eight months after the 1996 civil disturbances. Violence erupted after a white officer fatally shot a black motorist during a traffic stop.

Davis said he is most proud of the relationship police have established with the community.

"I've done a hell of a job," he said.

He has promoted more blacks into supervisory positions. He has been a strict disciplinarian, instituting a no-profanity policy and forbidding officers from standing in front of vehicles, a flash point for the 1996 disturbances.

"People feel they can come into the Police Department and get fair and credible service," Davis said. "We're back to a stable, viable, healthy organization."

Some ministers say the established peace is a little unsteady. Yet they look to Vines to maintain harmony.

"I think that he's going to make an excellent chief," said Clarence Welch, an elder at Prayer Tower Church of God in Christ. "At the same time, I think he's going to have to do a whole lot of confidence-building in the community."

Last week, in the Perkins neighborhood, which is predominantly black, a crowd of 25 people gathered as officers arrested Willie Lloyd, 20. Lloyd, a repeat offender, was charged with possession of crack cocaine and resisting arrest with violence.

With Lloyd handcuffed in the back of a police car, the crowd threatened to call members of the Uhuru movement who have been outspoken critics of the Police Department.

Later, at the police station, officers were met with more resistance. Lloyd's mother, Brenda Harrington, arrived as police were processing her son in the parking lot.

"I got the Uhuru people coming," she shouted.

Officer Robert Partner III, who helped in the arrest of Lloyd, said he is tired of the harassment from people who stick up for dealers.

"We cater to them," Partner said.

Weaver, the officer who suffered a concussion making an arrest, won't give up.

"There are some people who don't want the drugs, and it's a sad thing that they have to live in that kind of atmosphere, and that's why I continue to do my job," Weaver said.

Vines said he will ride along with officers to evaluate whether they fear reprisal for enforcing certain laws. He believes officers should police through empathy.

"Don't be afraid," Vines said. "Get out of the car. Make decisions. Stop and talk to people. Be problem solvers. I want them to have fun."

Vines said he will attend neighborhood association meetings and meet with church leaders.

Vines is inheriting a Police Department with some hefty administrative challenges.

For one, there has been constant disagreement between the police union and Davis over how many officers St. Petersburg should have on duty at any given time. The city is budgeted for 456 patrol officers but has just 440. Another 24 are cadets waiting for authorization to hit the street, but that may take months. Nevertheless, Vines must assess the size of the gap between authorized strength and actual strength.

"I think we need more police out here in the neighborhoods and throughout the city," said Biggerstaff, the neighborhood association president.

The number of calls, and changes in the levels, dictate staffing. The city has seen only a slight increase in calls for service in the past several years.

What is hurting staffing is the mismatch between scheduling and residents' calls. Fewer patrol officers are assigned to the street when the most calls come in: 4 p.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. That means residents wait longer to see an officer.

Administrators are considering changing shifts to coincide with the call demand.

Vines also is walking into a potential minefield. The city's contract with its 440 officers has expired, and a new one is not in place.

Officers want Vines to back their contract demand: a 9 percent increase each year for three years. The city has offered a 6 percent raise the first year, 5 percent the second and 4 percent in the third year.

"The chief can support these things behind the scenes, talking to the mayor and his staff," said Soule, the union president.

But in an interview, Vines did not commit to lobbying.

"I work with the mayor," he said. "Although at the helm of the Police Department, I'm also a team player."

When Vines was chief 26 years ago, a sergeant compared him to a palm tree, saying he bent with the wind. Once again, Vines will have to bend.

-- Leanora Minai can be reached at minai@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8406.

Calling the police

Here are the top calls for police service from January to September:

Burglar alarm: 9,013

Call for assistance: 7,575

Accidents: 7,275

Trouble with individual: 5,348

Domestic quarrel: 4,315

Suspicious circumstance: 3,854

Narcotic drug law violation: 2,976

Petit theft: 2,891

-- Source: St. Petersburg Police Department

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