ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610280060
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
Officials of this smoldering city appealed for calm Friday, even as they marshaled a vast force of riot-ready police and National Guard troops to respond to any repeat of the arson and looting outbreak that followed the fatal police shooting of a teen-ager the night before.
As the sun went down over the Gulf of Mexico, tensions were on the rise, especially in the predominantly black neighborhood of south St. Petersburg.
``We are asking for calm, but the history is that it doesn't end in one night,'' said Mayor David Fischer, who declared a 72-hour state of emergency Friday evening.
Although officials urged residents to stay off the streets and announced a ban on the sale of firearms and gasoline in some sections of the city, no curfew was imposed.
``Our expectation is that our community will remain calm,'' Police Chief Darrel Stephens said.
Truman Smith, father of the 18-year-old black youth killed after he was stopped by a white officer for speeding, also appealed for calm. ``The killing must stop. There's been enough killing as it is.''
More than 400 police officers, backed by 200 Florida National Guard troops, were equipped in full riot gear and standing by.
In the aftermath of Thursday's disturbance, Fischer called for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission to investigate race relations in the city, which just two weeks ago basked in the national spotlight as host of the vice presidential debate. Four years ago, a similar look from the rights commission got this city a failing grade. Two years later, that grade was upped to a B.
The U.S. Justice Department dispatched investigators, and Fischer asked the state attorney to take charge of the probe into the shooting that touched off arson fires and violence.
``This is something I did not think would happen here,'' said Fischer, who was elected to a second term as mayor in 1993 with support from many blacks.
Some leaders disagreed. ``We have a legal harassment system,'' Councilman Ernest Fillyau said before breaking into tears at a community meeting. ``When you cross south of Central [Avenue], officers come with their guns cocked and their attitudes cocked.''
Police said the routine traffic stop turned tragic after Officer Jim Knight and his partner stopped a car that was traveling more than 70 mph. Knight stood in front of the car, police said, ordering the driver to get out, when the vehicle suddenly lurched forward. Knight fired several shots through the front windshield, killing Tyron Lewis. A passenger in the car was not injured.
Within hours of that 5:30 p.m. shooting, the fifth involving police and motorists in St. Petersburg this year, the streets were jammed with hundreds of people, many with a different version of what occurred.
One version suggested the driver had his hands up and was getting out of the car when he was shot. Others said Lewis was outside the car, with his hands on the hood.
Lisa Craft said that Knight fired five times. ``The boy wasn't going fast enough to run them over. He wasn't even going 2 miles per hour,'' she said.
By midnight, at least 11 people had been injured. Twenty people had been arrested, and about 25 fires had been set.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB