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Hundreds rally for peace in Sulphur Springs

 
Tampa police Lt. Randy Peters, 42, left, Elizabeth Bogan, 67, and Tina Edwards, 48, release balloons of remembrance during the rally on Saturday in Sulphur Springs. Activists, politicians and Tampa police Chief Jane Castor joined community members.
Tampa police Lt. Randy Peters, 42, left, Elizabeth Bogan, 67, and Tina Edwards, 48, release balloons of remembrance during the rally on Saturday in Sulphur Springs. Activists, politicians and Tampa police Chief Jane Castor joined community members.
Published April 19, 2015

TAMPA

The ralliers kept calling themselves snitches, loud and proud, among a crowd that offered soulful "amens" and "mhmms" in return.

The mayor, preachers, the City Council members, the mother of an 18-year-old boy shot dead in 2005 — each addressed the crippling "no snitch" culture that keeps police from solving crime and neighborhoods from overcoming it.

"I don't want to see another mother in my situation, another father upset," said Darla Saunders, whose son was found dead in a field 10 years ago. "Snitch every day."

Saunders was one of more than 300 people who gathered Saturday afternoon at Abundant Life Church on 13th Street to march for peace and an end to violent crime across Tampa. They focused on Sulphur Springs, a community plagued since the first of the year by gun-related crime and homicide, many of which involved young adults and teenagers.

Before they started marching, 41 people stepped forward, holding on to 41 balloons that floated high in the sky. Each represented a victim of homicide in the past year.

"These homicides are real, and they are happening daily," community activist April Goode said. "Forty-one of our babies, 41 of our brothers. I want everybody to take a look at this. These are 41 lives."

It was a somber moment that kicked off an otherwise purposeful, even hopeful, day.

Just after noon, the crowd — politicians, activists, the police chief and her officers, mourning parents and concerned neighbors — started walking.

Led by the city's bicycle patrol unit, they wove through the streets, chanting: "If you see it, tell it" and "No more death on these streets."

They paused at the house where 14-year-old Richard Newton was shot dead at a birthday party on March 21, and at the place where Ikeim Boswell, 16, was accidentally shot and killed by a friend. Their mothers were among the marchers.

Another mother, Denise Fisher, walked for her son Anton Fisher, 35, who was shot dead in a convenience store parking lot on March 2.

Fisher said sometimes the violence is incomprehensible. Around her, the children of her friends are dying, and often at the hands of each other.

"These parents were raised up together," she said. "We're friends to this day, and our kids are killing each other."

On Saturday, and at a news conference last month, Tampa police Chief Jane Castor attributed much of the violence to "territorial disputes," but hesitated to use the word "gang." Many of the marchers weren't so wary.

"It's gang stuff," Fisher said.

City Council member Frank Reddick said he hoped the rally sent a message to these rival groups that the community is tired of all the "senseless killing."

He also said he believes law enforcement shouldn't focus on semantics.

"You have to speak the truth, and if it's gang-related, we have to identify that it is," Reddick said.

Lt. Randy Peters, who patrols the Sulphur Springs area, said "gang" is a loaded word, but that law enforcement is cognizant of the severity of this territorial fighting.

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"So many of these problems are generational," he said. "It's a generational curse."

Peters said he was encouraged by the day's turnout, however, and the sense of community togetherness that had stemmed from the rally.

The march ended at Idlewild Sulphur Springs Church on 19th Street, where hot dogs, jambalaya and coolers of ice cold water greeted the sweaty demonstrators.

April Goode sat at an information table, talking about her organization, Unified Community Outreach, which works to connect those who offer services with those who need them.

She said Saturday's rally was a good start, but the conversation can't stop here.

"This just can't happen and be done with," she said. "It's time to challenge the community to create their own unity."

Contact Katie Mettler at kmettler@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3446.