USA-GUNS/WASHINGTON POLICE Washington mayor unveils plan to combat gun violence, protestors react

Record ID: 142251

  • Title: USA-GUNS/WASHINGTON POLICE Washington mayor unveils plan to combat gun violence, protestors react
  • Date: 27th August 2015
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) WASHINGTON, D.C. MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER WALKING TO STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) WASHINGTON, D.C. MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER SAYING: "Some critics have said that today's event will be about arresting black men. And I'm here to tell you that's not why we're here. We're not here to talk about arresting black men, but how we can save their lives." CLOSE UP OF CROWD (SOUNDBITE) (English) WASHINGTON, D.C. MAYOR BOWSER SAYING: "We have 235 officers working twelve hour shifts who focus on narcotics, gangs, and illegal guns. Since mid-June we have deployed and devoted more than one million dollars to police in overtime." BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) WASHINGTON, D.C. MAYOR BOWSER SAYING: "I will not be shouted down because I'm telling the truth. It is time to draw a line in the sand." "BLACK LIVES MATTER" PROTESTERS CHANTING "SHUT IT DOWN" PROTESTER CARRYING A SIGN THAT SAYS "JOBS NOT JAILS" (SOUNDBITE) (English) WASHINGTON, D.C. MAYOR BOWSER SAYING: "We will expand our law enforcement's access to data from GPS trackers to make sure that we can keep people away from violent places." MAYOR BOWSER SHAKING HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) WARD 5 COMMISSIONER JACQUELINE MANNING SAYING: "There needs to be a balance between jobs and crime going down. As you see with the protesters, they are concerned about not only just having the visibility of the police officers but also having a place of employment." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACQUELINE MANNING SAYING: "We need to address the issues of unemployment, housing and drugs. All of that goes hand in hand." (SOUNDBITE) (English) "BLACK LIVES MATTER" PROTESTER APRIL GOGGANS SAYING: "The element of protest is to show that we are in protest of the program. I also think that it's to disrupt also, that this is not okay, it's not status quo and we're not going to be complicit by not saying anything. But I think that real change is something that you demand."
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAUG2T1BNPCK1KX3RVH8IWJ7M9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser announced a plan aimed curbing gun violence in the nation's capital, in a speech she called her "fall public safety agenda."
    Washington, a city of about 660,000 people, has had 98 homicides so far this year, up 36 percent from the same time in 2014. Police have seized 944 illegal guns this year.
    Bowser unveiled new plans for enhanced policing in the city, an announcement that had some people in the crowd shouting angrily at the mayor.
    To a packed auditorium at the former Malcolm X elementary school, Bowser said that the event wasn't about arresting black men, but about "how we can save their lives."
    Protesters at the mayor's speech held signs saying "Jobs not Jails" and "Black Lives Matter," in reference to the movement addressing police killings of black men nationwide.
    "There needs to be a balance between jobs and crime going down. As you see with the protesters, they are concerned about not only just having the visibility of the police officers but also having a place of employment," Jacqueline Manning, a Ward 5 commissioner said.
    "Black Lives Matter" protester April Goggans called police tactics such as "stop and frisk" unconstitutional.
    "It's not status quo and we're not going to be complicit by not saying anything. But I think that real change is something that you demand," Goggans said.
    D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier and Bowser have blamed the rise in killings on factors including illegal firearms in the wrong hands, greater use of synthetic drugs, more guns and repeat violent offenders on the street.
    The U.S. capital has some of the country's strictest gun laws, and banned weapons include sawed-off shotguns and machine guns. Firearms also must be registered with police.
    Washington is among other big U.S. cities seeing an upturn in violent crime after it fell, starting in the 1990s, to half-century lows in 2013.
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