SOME RESIDENTS EXPRESS FRUSTRATION.
The Plant City Police Department (PCPD) held a meeting with the community to hear about issues, then discuss and respond.
City of Plant City officials who sat in the 6:00 p.m. meeting on February 19, at Bruton Memorial Library were Mayor Nate Kilton, Deputy Chief Joseph Centanni, Captain Michael Ward, Captain Al Van Duyne, Tina Barber, Code Enforcement Manager, Julie Garretson, Director of Parks and Recreation, and Denise McDaniel, Community Service Manager.
This is the first community meeting held by PCPD at the library. The change from afternoon meetings at the Police Center is an attempt to get out into the community more. The purpose of holding the meeting in the evening was to allow those who can’t come during business hours a chance to give input and hear from PCPD.
After a welcome and opening statements, Mayor Kilton referred to the recent homicide by firearm on East Warren Street. “Words can’t express the heartbreak for the community when something like this happens,” he said. “It’s tragic. What I can assure you is that I have the utmost confidence in the men and women of our police department….I know that they will do everything they possibly can to get to the bottom of this. One of the things that we worked on recently that is going to come to the City Commission next week is a midyear review on additional resources we need for our first responders in this community….because public safety is job number one in Plant City. My heart is broken for this family….We are going to do everything we possibly can, but we also need help. Somebody knows what happened. We need people to partner with us. We need you all to step forward, and if you see something, say something. You need to help us. We are all in this together.”
After taking their roles in July, the new chief and deputy chiefs have conducted an in-depth analysis and review of PCPD. “We came up with things that we determined will be not only in the best interest of the police department, but of ways to better serve the community,” Deputy Chief Joseph Centanni said. “There are so many issues that are going on with gun violence in the city….Without getting into specifics about this case, we are feeling good—we are making progress. And we are going to continue to do our absolute best to solve not only this one, but others that we have throughout the city.” Centanni then extended an offer to the assembly to ask him any questions during or after the meeting.
“When we come together during these bi-monthly community meetings, we look to solve problems,” Captain Ward, Patrol Division Commander, said when he opened the floor for residents to air issues.
One man voiced a concern about men wearing backpacks who regularly circle around College Park on bicycles. The resident believes the men are looking for items they can take.
A retired Tampa firefighter and medic who lives on Alabama Street told those in attendance that he regularly sees cars and loud motorcycles speeding through stop signs. He sees kids in the area playing in the streets, and on the sidewalks, and he is concerned one of them will be killed by a speeding car. Residents and PCPD staff discussed the problem and some options including speed bumps, and more PCPD presence in the area.
A representative for Charlow Funeral Home brought to the discussion that people are habitually loitering in the rear of the building, and some use drugs.
One citizen aired noise complaints at an address on Laura Street. The citizen complained nothing is being done about the noise.
Another resident asked for a light to be placed at the intersection of Whitehurst Road and Baker Street because the traffic is too heavy for her to make a left turn from Whitehurst onto Baker.
After a resident raised an issue, Captain Ward delegated one of the officers in attendance to sit down with the resident and figure out a way to fix it. Also, where appropriate, the city staff and leaders offered to connect the resident with the responsible city department.
During the meeting, several residents had been standing in the back with poster-size photos. At this point, they walked to the front of the room. The photos were of local young men who have been killed, but the crimes have not been solved. Some of the residents spoke with frustration about their perspectives on the ways some cases have been handled. One woman spoke angrily, saying PCPD has never given her much information about her son’s killing. Centanni explained that for investigations, some information can be released, and some cannot. The woman asked about contacting PCPD Internal Affairs in light of the handling of the case. Centanni told her she could contact him with specifics, and promised her that someone from PCPD would contact her with an update.
A spokesman for this group said they were there to ask what PCPD is doing to support residents. He requested PCPD follow up more with families to ensure cases don’t go cold, give more assistance, and take tangible action from PCPD. He also asked what is being done to reduce crimes in Plant City. Residents and PCPD officers had back-and-forth questions, answers, and discussions. Throughout the meeting, officers spoke respectfully to the citizens.
PCPD told the assembly about one initiative that is part of a crime-solving strategy—license plate reader (LPR) technology. With LPR, when a crime occurs in which PCPD has to locate a vehicle, they can type in a description and range of time. The LPR technology will find and produce a list of matching results including license plate numbers. At this time, there are about 10 LPR cameras in Plant City, but PCPD is in the process of requesting money to up the number of cameras to 25 to be placed in specific areas to help with investigations. The discussion continued about how the decisions are made for camera placement. At this point, one resident, clearly frustrated, stormed out of the room. Centanni said the cameras would be installed in the locations that have the highest incidence of crime, including nearby thoroughfares vehicles are most likely to use. Ultimately, citizens need to give PCPD details about any vehicles connected to crimes, so the LPRs can identify the vehicles to get the license plates.
To watch over her neighborhood, Essie Lewis, a resident, escorts four children to school in the morning, and picks up seven kids to take them home. “We have community people,” she said. “We can come together. We’ve got to do it. We can’t look to somebody else. We’ve got to get together.” The meeting ended on a positive note with both PCPD and citizens acknowledging they are all in this together to make Plant City a safer place.
The next community meeting will be held at the Plant City Food Bank on April 13 at 3:00 p.m.
