04_USA

The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
Police in riot gear worked to break up an unruly crowd hours after attorneys for the family of a black motorist killed by a police officer in 1996 wrapped up their case against the city in court.

The initial crowd of a few dozen people gathered at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the same neighborhood where riots broke out over the case eight years ago, police said. The group grew, and people threw rocks and bottles at cars and buildings, said police spokesman Chip Wells.

There were also reports of gunfire, looting, and a car being set ablaze, police said. At least five people were injured, and four were arrested, said Bill Doniel, another police spokesman.

Two of those arrested were accused of shooting at police officers, Doniel said. About 100 police officers were dispatched to help manage the disturbances.

The family of TyRon Lewis, an 18-year-old motorist killed by Officer James Knight, is seeking $15,000 from the city in a lawsuit that went to trial this week.

Knight testified Tuesday that he tried to get Lewis out of a car, but the teenager repeatedly threatened the officer by nudging him with the vehicle. Knight fired three times through the car windshield, killing Lewis.

Attorneys for Lewis' family, who are trying to prove Knight used his firearm in a negligent manner, rested their case Wednesday.

Thu May 13, 4:53 PM ET

Wireless World owner Eric Mallay stands inside his looted cell phone store Thursday, May 13, 2004 , in St. Petersburg , Fla. The store was damaged late Wednesday night during a riot in the same neighborhood where riots broke out after TyRon Lewis, a black motorist was was fatally shot by police in 1996. The family of Lewis is suing the city for damages in a case that went to trial this week. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

St. Petersburg , Florida -AP -- Four people are under arrest, and at least five are recovering from injuries after a disturbance last night in St. Petersburg , Florida .

About 100 police officers were called when a crowd of several dozen people gathered on a street where a young black motorist was shot to death by a police officer eight years ago. People in the crowd started throwing rocks and bottles, and police say at least two shots were fired.

The disturbance happened after lawyers for the young man's family concluded arguments in a lawsuit against the city.

Published Thursday, May 13, 2004
Officials appeal for calm in St. Petersburg as riot trial nears end

By VICKIE CHACHERE
Associated Press Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Officials and civil rights leaders called for calm Thursday hours after authorities quelled a riot sparked by the fatal police shooting of a black motorist in 1996.

The shooting of TyRon Lewis brought nights of rioting in south St. Petersburg almost a decade ago and again on Wednesday night into Thursday morning as the trial in his family's lawsuit against the city over his death neared its end.

No one was seriously injured in the most recent disturbances. Twenty people were arrested on a variety of charges, including nine juveniles.

Three people face charges of attempted homicide of a police officer. Police said a car carrying several people fired on an officer, but did not hit him.

Several businesses were looted and damaged with firebombs. City officials did not yet have a damage estimate for the rioting, which erupted along major thoroughfares in the neighborhoods south of Tropicana Field.

Police Chief Chuck Harmon said the disturbance began when officers were pelted with rocks and bottles. They had gone to investigate reports that a group of 50 to 100 people were blocking traffic as they gathered to protest Lewis' death and the city's handling of the civil trial. Pockets of disturbances then erupted throughout south St. Petersburg.

The march was staged by the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, whose leader Omali Yeshitela has demanded city officials settle the lawsuit with Lewis' family out of court. Yeshitela renewed his call for a settlement again on Thursday, saying further violence is a possibility.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker said threats of violence would not force the city into an agreement. The family is seeking unspecified damages of at least $15,000 and is hoping to convince jurors that the officer who shot Lewis was acting negligently.

Baker said the city is continuing discussions about settling the lawsuit and has been during the entire course of the case.

Darryl Rouson, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, also condemned the violence. He said the community is anxious over the trial, which has been like "tearing a scab off a wound that has been healing for eight years."

He too had asked city officials settle the lawsuit rather than risk undoing years of progress in race relations and improved economic conditions.

Lewis was shot during a traffic stop by a St. Petersburg police officer.

A grand jury later ruled that Officer James Knight was justified in shooting Lewis. Although the police department suspended him for putting himself in danger by standing in front of the Lewis' car, he was later exonerated in arbitration.

The family's lawsuit went to trial Monday and to win, they must prove that Knight was negligent in handling his firearm.

Testimony in the case concluded Thursday and the jury of five whites and one black is expected to hear closing arguments and begin deliberating Friday.

Heightened tensions have been felt in the neighborhood for days, said Eric Mallay, whose cell phone business was looted and then destroyed with firebombs during the recent disturbances.

Mallay, whose adjacent grocery store was destroyed in the 1996 riots, said he was bracing for an attack on his businesses and felt helpless in preventing it. Mallay is still paying off hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans to rebuild his business from eight years ago.

Community activist "Mama" Tee Lassiter said she saw the disturbance begin and is angry at both the city for putting itself in a dangerous position and for those who use the trial as an opportunity to burn and loot.

She said city efforts since the 1996 riots have not been enough and there is still disparate treatment of the city's poor residents. She said blacks have felt left out of the economic revival of downtown which has included upscale entertainment and shopping venues and that poor blacks still have trouble finding decent jobs.

City officials responded to the overnight violence by touting economic progress in the area. They also noted that police officers are better trained in community relations and for a time the city had a black police chief.

The rioting will not scare off investors, said Larry Newsome, the head of a company that is working with city officials to open a Sweetbay supermarket in the riot zone.

"We share your pain," Newsome told rioters. "We can't support your efforts in dealing with it, but we do share your pain."

Baker said he was pleased with the way the 100 police officers dispatch to handle the most recent disturbances conducted themselves.

But Yeshitela said that in recent days he has been getting a growing number of complaints from residents in predominantly black south St. Petersburg that police have been harassing them.

"This sets the stage for what happened last night," Yeshitela said.

Midtown Voices Calling For Positive Change

By STEVEN ISBITTS
sisbitts@tampatrib.com

ST. PETERSBURG - Midtown residents cleaned up their streets, businesses and damaged cars Thursday, hoping the violence that plagued their neighborhoods Wednesday night would not be repeated.

``Tearing up your own neighborhood doesn't solve anything or help anything,'' said Freeman Robinson, 46, who was shopping at the Looking Good men's clothing store on 34th Street South, which had windows smashed early Thursday morning.

In communities where deeply conflicting opinions are held about the conduct of police, Robinson's feeling is representative of many who expressed dismay at the violence and worried it would be counterproductive to meaningful improvements in the neighborhood.

Police in riot gear made 20 arrests Wednesday night and early Thursday. The violence came as residents await a verdict in a civil trial over the death of black motorist TyRon Lewis, who was shot by a white police officer, James Knight, in 1996. That shooting sparked riots in the South St. Petersburg neighborhood.

``It's the same bad routine as before,'' Robinson said. ``People blowing off steam because they are mad at the police. I don't have any neighbors that agree with violence of any kind. ... [and] I don't think the trouble will continue.''

Today, Lewis' family and supporters will attend the final day of the trial in their lawsuit against the City of St. Petersburg, hoping a verdict will repudiate the actions of the officer who shot Lewis.

Many residents hope the end of the trial, regardless of the verdict, moves the community a step closer to a better relationship with local police, and doesn't become a rallying point for criminal behavior.

Robinson's wife, Laura, was also angry at the destructive crowd, but equally angry at the police conduct during the 1996 shooting, which occurred during a traffic stop.

``That officer needs to be punished for what he did, as much as the people who tore apart our neighborhood should be punished,'' Laura Robinson said. ``That's justice.''

Mike Chugani, a native of India who has owned Looking Good for the past 18 years, was dejected by the return of widespread vandalism.

He said the destruction in past years should have taught people that violent protests do not lead to positive change.

``Since 1996, it's been business as usual, which is not good,'' Chugani said. ``No new businesses want to open here on the south side. We need more businesses to come here, so it's not just the regular neighborhood people in the stores. That's not how you have success.

``And I live here, too. Why destroy your own neighborhood? What good does that accomplish? This is not what our community wants. It's the actions of a only a few.''

Wednesday night's destructive crowd began with a march by members of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement down 18th Avenue, through the heart of the area scarred by the worst destruction in 1996.

The Uhurus, a black activist group that has regularly spoken out against the St. Petersburg Police Department, has been promising ``no justice, no peace'' at a series of protests.

The object of their anger: the city's refusal to settle the Lewis family's lawsuit - and the May 2 shooting of a black man by the Pinellas Sheriff's Office in a northern part of the city.

Some in the community accuse the Uhurus of sparking Wednesday's violence, but most said the destruction was a result of poverty.

``Part of the Uhurus message makes sense, [and] peaceful and loud protesting is the only way to go to make a difference,'' said Darryl Walls, 41, a neighborhood resident with four children.

``I don't think their members caused this, but at least they are here speaking out.''

Omali Yeshitela, the Uhuru founder, said city officials are deluding themselves if they think a handful of agitators are responsible for Wednesday night's destruction.

City statistics show that 71 percent of the residents are living at or below the poverty line, Yeshitela said Thursday during a break in the Lewis civil trial.

The city is ``not offering anything'' to impoverished blacks, Yeshitela said. ``It didn't start [Wednesday] night.''

Mayor Rick Baker vowed Thursday that the unrest wouldn't impede the city's efforts to improve living conditions in the inner-city area.

At a news conference Thursday, Baker reinforced the city's commitment to all of its residents.

``If anybody thinks that through acts of criminal violence they can slow down our efforts to change the lives of people in Midtown, they're wrong,'' Baker said.

Garry Fleming, 25, who said he grew up in Midtown, said the political discussions don't really mean much to his friends and neighbors, or, he believes, to those who threw bottles and rocks Wednesday.

``I'm busy. I have to get up for work early in the morning, and I try not to pay attention to any of that,'' he said. ``The people messing up our neighborhood are not right. That's it. There's no reason for it.''

He added that he knows ``people who have ended up in jail who haven't committed crimes. That's a real problem, I think, here and in the whole country.''

While many shrugged off Wednesday's chaos, the destruction did leave others fearful of what could happen after the Lewis trial verdict, which could come today.

Omar Jaber, 23, planned to spend an hour Thursday night packing up cigarettes, cell phones and novelties from his Midtown shop, afraid his luck might run out.

On Wednesday looters bypassed his store on 34th Street. They grabbed athletic shoes and African-American artwork from nearby vendors instead.

Reporters Kathy Steele, David Sommer, Carlos Moncada and Stephen Thompson contributed to this report. Reporter Steven Isbitts can be reached at (727) 799-7413

LORIDA: RULING FOR CITY IN SHOOTING Jurors ruled that the family of a black driver killed by the St. Petersburg police in 1996, sparking riots, should not receive any money. The city had argued that the family of the man, 18-year-old TyRon Lewis, left, deserved no money because he was threatening an officer when he was shot. The family had asked for $1.6 million. The People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, a socialist group, had been pushing the city for a settlement, saying that was the only way to prevent further unrest.

Midtown Voices Calling For Positive Change

National Briefing: South