St. Petersburg quiet as leaders assess riots

Civil Rights Commission to help probe violence

October 26, 1996
Web posted at: 10:30 a.m. EDT

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State's attorney to investigate shooting
Shooting ignites rioting
'All hell broke loose'
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ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN) -- The streets of St. Petersburg were calm overnight as scores of extra police patrolled the bayfront city to prevent a repeat of racial violence that erupted after a white police officer shot and killed a black teen-ager Thursday night during a traffic stop.

Authorities reported a few isolated rock-and-bottle-throwing incidents and garbage fires. Otherwise, police said Saturday, it was quieter than usual. Community leaders reconvened to discuss the violence.

"A normal Friday night usually sees more arrests than this," Police Chief Darrel Stephens said. "We're really relieved that the calm has prevailed into dark hours."

The city remained under a state of emergency that restricted the sale of guns and gasoline in containers until Monday afternoon. Some 200 officers patrolled the streets on the south side of St. Petersburg, about four times the normal number. Another 200 officers and 200 National Guard troops were on standby.

Earlier Friday, police with bullhorns ordered young blacks off the streets. Youths shouted obscenities at police officers. Others paced the street corner where the shooting happened, carrying signs with messages like "Stop the Genocide" and "You can't kill us all."

The brother of the slain motorist, 18-year-old Tyron Lewis, asked people to stay calm. "My little brother is gone," Roderick Pringles said. "I don't think burning down no buildings is going to bring him back."

Streets where buildings burned and mobs pelted police with rocks were deserted following the riots that were sparked by the fatal shooting. Police said the man had tried to run them over with his car after they stopped him.

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At least 20 people were arrested and 28 buildings were burned in a 25-square-block area. About 11 people were injured, including a police officer who was shot and a newspaper photographer who was beaten, as hundreds of people swarmed through the streets shortly after the shooting.

State's attorney to investigate shooting

Mayor David Fischer said the state's attorney would conduct an independent investigation into Lewis' death, and the U.S. Civil Rights Commission was asked to re-evaluate the city's progress in dealing with its racial problems.

"St. Petersburg has made a lot of progress and we thought we were doing well," Fischer said, "then an incident like this happens."

Fischer, who met with community leaders Friday, added that "it's obvious more needs to be done" in terms of evaluating the city's race relations and police policies.

Stepped-up police patrols backed by deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department were called in to maintain order, Stephens said. Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles said he had put National Guard troops on standby.

Shooting ignites rioting

The trouble erupted after two officers, a white male and a white female, stopped a car with two people inside for speeding.

Knight opened fire, striking Lewis, after the car lurched forward, apparently trying to run the officer over, police said. But some witnesses said Lewis had done nothing to prompt the shooting, and that his car was moving slowly.

"The boy wasn't going fast enough to run them over. He wasn't even going 2 miles per hour," Lisa Craft told the St. Petersburg Times. She added that Knight fired five times.

Lewis died before reaching Bayfront Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.

Stephens said it is "inappropriate" to speculate "too much" on what happened until police have interviewed the officers and witnesses at the scene.

It was the sixth police shooting of the year in St. Petersburg, coming just one week after another shooting in the same area.

'All hell broke loose'

The riot began at the intersection where the shooting took place. It quickly moved across several blocks as word of the shooting spread.

Helmeted police carrying shields cordoned off several blocks around the intersection. They fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse mobs that were looting businesses. Six police officers, including one who was shot in the shoulder, were treated at a hospital. Four journalists and one firefighter were also treated for minor wounds.

"Where the big mistake was when the police put the riot gear on," said one area businessman who didn't want to be identified. "That's when all hell broke loose."

Stephens defended his department's actions. "Any time you have an encounter between police and a member of the community, particularly when there's gunfire involved and there's loss of life, there are lots and lots of rumors," he said.

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