Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 19, 1990 TAG: 9006190520
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So Tinsley, former president of Roanoke's NAACP branch, called for a meeting held Monday of city officials and a group of ministers.
"We need to deal with this before it gets out of hand," Tinsley said.
Although no firm plans were made during the informal meeting, Tinsley said it gave the group of mostly black ministers a chance to reach an understanding with city officials on some underlying reasons for the problems.
"We wanted people to know that what's happening is not a racial issue," Tinsley said. Police have reported that crowds of blacks seem to be picking mostly white victims as they pelt passing cars with rocks and bottles on 11th Street.
But Tinsley said other factors are to blame - such as the temptation of drugs and a lack of places for restless teens to go for entertainment.
Tinsley said he wants the city to provide more leisure-time opportunities for teens, such as keeping school gymnasiums open during the summer, even if it requires public funding.
"I'd rather see the money used on this side than see it used on the courts and jails," he said.
The meeting was attended by about six ministers, City Manager Robert Herbert, Police Chief M. David Hooper and Director of Administration and Public Safety George Snead.
Tinsley said news reports of the situation on 11th Street have created the impression of a "war zone" between blacks and whites.
"We're not at war," he said. "What we're at war with is the drug dealers."
Evangeline Jeffrey, president of the NAACP, said Monday that she was also concerned that news media reports have blown the incidents out of proportion. Jeffrey said she does not believe the attacks are racially motivated.
Roanoke's lack of black police officers, an issue raised last week in reports of 11th Street violence, was also discussed at Monday's meeting.
Of 244 sworn officers in the Roanoke Police Department, only eight are black. The city has a black population of about 22 percent.
"They need to go out and start recruiting," said Tinsley, who agrees with some black citizens that the department's racial makeup often hampers its ability to deal more effectively with the black community.
As an example, he cited police response to a disorderly party on Kershaw Road Northwest last week. An argument that began at the party ended in the fatal shooting about a mile away of Lonnie R. Davis, 18, and the arrest of Iven Purnell Thompson, 18.
Tinsley said he was concerned that police may have used an excessive show of force in their first response to the incident. The minister said that an unnecessarily large number of officers responded to the call.
"Every time a little incident happens, they respond in force," he said.
Police have cited the block party as another example of how crowds of restless teen-agers can easily get out of hand.
But when police are called to investigate incidents involving blacks, Tinsley said, "the first thing [blacks] see is a white police officer, who has always been kind of a symbol of persecution to them, rather than someone who will help them."
Tinsley said he hoped to continue the meetings and broaden the discussions to include educators, parents, community leaders - and, perhaps most importantly, young people.
by CNB