Florida city calm after night of riots

In this story:

Fires, injuries, blame
What set off the trouble
Cleared officer still disciplined
Related stories and sites

Officer cleared in fatal shooting in St. Petersburg

November 14, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 a.m. EST

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN) -- Small fires burned early Thursday in St. Petersburg, Florida, after a night of looting, rock throwing and shooting by rioters angry that a white officer was cleared in last month's fatal shooting of a black man. (607K/13 sec. QuickTime movie)

By morning, the situation was under control, police said. Wednesday evening, mobs had roamed the streets of predominantly black south St. Petersburg, the same area where violence erupted after the October 24 shooting.

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(224K/10 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Fires, injuries, blame

They set more than 80 fires, attacked passers-by with bottles and chunks of concrete, and fired shots, wounding a police officer in the leg, police said. A helicopter pilot was cut by flying glass when a bullet hit his aircraft.

Neither injury was life threatening, and the wounded officer left the hospital after being treated. At least seven other people were injured. Several people had been arrested, Police Chief Darrel Stephens said early Thursday morning.

He blamed a small black separatist group, the National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, for instigating violence. "I don't believe that this was a spontaneous event," the police chief said.

More than 200 police officers responded to the trouble, closing off streets and firing tear gas. The National Guard was placed on standby.

What set off the trouble

Wednesday night's disturbance came after a grand jury ruled that Officer James Knight, 34, was justified in the fatal shooting of motorist Tyron Lewis, 18, following a routine traffic stop three weeks ago.

The 16-member panel, with one black member, said Knight was in danger of being run over by the car Lewis was driving after he and his partner pulled Lewis over for allegedly speeding. It said Knight had a "reasonable fear for his life" because the car rolled forward twice, bumping into him.

Cleared officer still disciplined

Following the grand jury ruling, Knight was suspended for 60 days without pay for violating the police department policy.

A police review panel found that Knight "placed himself in a position of disadvantage and danger by moving to the front of the vehicle to confront the occupants." It added, "This tactic is not consistent with our training or policy, which instructs sworn members to employ 'reasonable means to avoid the danger.'"

Knight, who has been on administrative leave since the shooting, must also undergo remedial training on how to deal with similar situations.

Correspondent Robert Vito, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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