BlogWood: MT Archives

A walk in the park

Riverfront park is near my house. I drive by all the time. Two weeks ago on a Sunday, I thought that there must be some kind of organized event winding down, because the parking lot was full of parked police cars, but not many civilians were around. It turns out that the police were intimidating and harassing park goers, most likely due to the fact that any time more than 3 black people get together around here, the white establishment assumes there’s a riot brewing.

Concerned about allegations of police intimidation at downtown Tampa's Riverfront Park, City Council member Kevin White decided to check things out for himself last Sunday.

Residents had complained at last week's City Council meeting that Tampa police officers walked around on a recent Sunday, writing parking tickets and displaying orange bean bag guns.

They said a police helicopter had circled the area.

All this, and there wasn't a single fight or example of inappropriate conduct on display, people said. They blamed the police for targeting Riverfront Park because it has become a popular gathering spot for black people on Sundays, with crowds of up to 3,000.

"If what the citizenry was saying at council was true ... I could not believe that the police department would be walking around with the bean bag shotguns," White, a former police officer, said Thursday. "I did not think that was true. Unfortunately, it was."

Tampa police Chief Stephen Hogue said the bean bag guns are standard equipment for officers' cars. On Sunday, no officers used them. But two weeks ago, about seven officers responded to a call for crowd control at the park and and prepared to use the weapons.

"Two weeks ago, they had their bean bag guns out and they had them out on the edge," Hogue said, adding that officers weren't walking around through the crowd as some park goers alleged.

The reason they pulled the guns out at all: "It was a little bit of a miscommunication," Hogue said.

"They had received a call from the parks department dispatched to them that the park was getting out of control," Hogue said. "I'm sure they pulled them out thinking there was a problem. When they found out there wasn't, they put them away."

Locals say visitors come from as far away as Orlando and Ocala to play basketball, barbecue and congregate at Riverfront Park on Sundays. Near Interstate 275 at N Boulevard and W Cypress Street, the park is easily accessible. And with the summer approaching, park goers expect more people, but don't want unnecessary police presence.

With a crowd so large, White said, having the police at the park is "mandatory." But those officers shouldn't use unnecessary tactics, he said.

White notified Hogue's office about his concerns, saying he planned to investigate the allegations of intimidation.

White said he talked to the chief about complaints about a police helicopter in the area, and Hogue said the pilots had been told not to fly near the area unless called for service.

Connie Burton, 49, of Tampa, called on council members last week to "stand up and do the right thing ... come out there when the people are gathering and see what the people see."

Although White took her up on the offer, Burton said Thursday she's not sure how helpful the visit from White and Hogue will prove.

"African Americans have a right to utilize the park without intimidation," Burton said. "I guess we're in a wait and see mode."

That helicopter: it’s a favorite weapon of intimidation against the poor. My neighborhood is best described as up and crumbling, aspiring toward transitional. Residents around here come in all colors, but most of them are poor. Police helicopters circle within earshot of my house almost constantly. Oftentimes, they are so close that the walls shake.

When I called the police to report a break-in next door, having been alerted by a neighbor, the police came and immediately declared the person who had alerted me to the break-in as the prime suspect. Why? Because he has brown skin, few communication skills, and looks borderline homeless. I spent most of an hour convincing the cops that this person was personally known to me, and that he was here to help. When the cops finally figured out that I was not going to give them an excuse to arrest this person, they closed up their notebooks and hurried to a call of a bar fight down the street. I guess they figured there might be an opportunity to bash some skulls.

Anyway, my point is that the police in Tampa have never been known for their diplomacy, especially when dealing with poor and/or minority residents. Civil rights? If you’re poor, you have none. The police are in charge. Period. Cross them at your peril. And when I say cross them, I mean things as simple as refusing to show an ID when being harassed. See, in this country, we are not yet required to carry our papers everywhere we go.

But if you’re poor, it’s a different story. Big bullies with badges can ruin your life forever. And if they order you to do something, there is no one to stop them from repeatedly and egregiously violating your civil rights. So poor people are required to carry ID, or face arrest for “suspicion” or an open container violation or some other nonsense.

When I attend big marches and demonstrations, there is always a team of “Legal Observers” milling around in the crowd. Their job is to witness actions of police and demonstrators so that they may challenge the official version of events if needed.

Perhaps it’s time to form a group of “Pale Observers,” white people (less likely to be harassed by the police, who thrive on attacking the weak and the poor, but hesitate when they think they might be about to hurt a white person who could have enough economic clout to actually raise a stink) in bright t-shirts with cameras and notebooks to document the constant intimidation of the powerless.

I’m sure the situation at Riverfront park will improve somewhat in the coming weeks, but only because a big bright light is now shining on it. As soon as the City Council members stop paying attention, the police will resume their bullying tactics, and most Tampa residents will just shrug and assume that “those people” must have done “something” to deserve whatever violations of their civil liberties that the police are perpetrating.