St. Pete Police Chief says only problem on MLK Day was lack of communications

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, the City Council, and Police Chief Tony Holloway received an earful from the public Thursday as residents expressed their frustration with the shutting down of areas in the south side of town following a parade honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Officers blocked streets, parking lots and other spaces where people might congregate, infuriating residents, most of whom are African American.

Yet to Holloway, Monday was a success. The only apology he offered was for his department’s failure to to inform the public about the plan to close off certain parts of the city.

Citing several shooting and deaths which occurred on past MLK holidays, Holloway said he has been working with members of the community to make the day a safer event.

“The plan worked,” he said, “except we did a bad job in communicating to the community when and how we were going to direct traffic through the community.”

Citing the St. Anthony’s Triathlon as an example, Holloway said that during every major event in the city, the police move traffic; so what they did Monday was not unusual or specific for the southside. And the chief said by the indices he goes by, Monday was a very good day.

“No homicides. No fights. No arrests. No people were fined. And people had a good time that day up until we did the traffic,” he said.

Still, Holloway said he hoped to create a task force comprised of members of the community to make the day flow more efficiently in 2019.

Kriseman said the top priority of city government is public safety, although he acknowledged that must be balanced with respect for the community.

“There are a number of things that can be improved upon next year, one of which is communication with the community prior to the event,” the mayor said, adding that he told Holloway on Tuesday morning that going forward, he is to be briefed about the police department’s plan for public safety prior to any major event.

More than two dozen people spoke during the Council meeting. Many seethed with frustration about having some of their basic freedoms thwarted without any given reasons.

Why so many police officers? Why couldn’t they visit their friends and family members? Why were they threatened with arrest and fines for cooking and refusing to leave public and private property when people were not doing anything wrong?

“We were treated as if we were in a police state,” said Linda McBivens. “You violated our civil rights. I have never witnessed such violation of my rights.”

Activist Gwen Reese said the police were extremely disrespectful to members of the public. This shows a need for additional training, she said.

“What we saw was totally unacceptable,” said Reese, who called it “blatant disregard and disrespect for the African American community.”

Many learned about the blockades on Monday from video posted on Facebook by activist Brother John Muhammad.

“I’m opposed to policies that intentionally prevent black people from gathering. And preventing us from moving about freely in our community was reminiscent of the sundown laws, black codes and Jim Crow practices Dr. King gave his life fighting to abolish,” Muhammed told the Council.

Many others referenced the racial disparities in the police seemingly allowing anything to go on when the Pride festival takes place versus the actions by black residents on a national holiday celebrating a civil rights icon.

After the initial thirty minutes of public comment, Council Chair Lisa Wheeler-Bowman attempted to move on to the regular agenda, as per Council rules. She informed those who still wished to speak that they could do so after the meeting, and called for a ten minute recess.

Members of the public challenged her decision. After the break she resumed public comment after addressing one time-sensitive issue.

One member of the public afterwards said her initial move to end public comment would be remembered when she runs for re-election next year.