TAMPA, Fla. — While people gathered to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the Tampa Police Department increased its patrol and officer presence throughout the Historic Ybor City District in the wake of the deadly Halloween weekend shooting.
The agency partnered with neighboring law enforcement agencies – and ultimately ended up with around 100 officers patrolling in their vehicles, walking, biking and on horseback.
"We want you to feel safe when you’re in Ybor and that is success to us,” Deputy Chief Michael Hutner said.
The heightened vigilance, which took place from Wednesday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 26, reportedly showed how the department is "dedicated to ensuring Ybor City remains a safe place for all."
With the extra patrolling, officers made a number of arrests and a "significant" number of traffic stops. This all led to guns and drugs being found, the agency explains.
Here's a breakdown of stats following the increased police presence:
- DUI arrests: 5
- Traffic stops: 197
- Recovered guns: 4
- Felony arrests: 7
- Misdemeanor arrests: 2
As police work to help the community feel more secure, they are continuing to investigate the shooting that left a 14-year-old and 20-year-old dead and 16 others injured.
The shooting happened during an altercation between two groups just after 2:45 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, on East 7th Avenue near North 17th Street.
Tyrell Phillips, 22, was taken into custody after turning himself in. Weeks later, a 14-year-old was taken into custody on felony charges including minor in possession of a firearm while wearing a mask and carrying a concealed firearm.
The patrols have folks like Kim Bard feeling a little better about visiting Ybor, but still not at night. The shooting earlier this month still has her and others feeling uneasy.
“We were here a couple of years ago, and nothing like that was going on. And now, we’re here this year and it’s like, 'Oh, so, this is why I’m here during the day,'” Bard said. “My son lives locally in Brooksville, and he did tell me that it’s better for me to come visit during the day instead of the evening because it’s a little more scarier in the evening time. So, we are here doing it during the daytime just because I’ll feel more comfortable.”
Adger Armstrong, who works and lives in Ybor says they’re still seeing that reluctance. Especially later at night.
“Yeah, they’ve definitely taken a hit from it,” Armstrong said. “I can tell you from a business standpoint, I go into all these bars, I know these people who work in these bars, and yes, absolutely. It’s taking a big hit.”
TPD says statistics are one thing, but their true measure of success has more to do with people actually feeling safe. How long that will take isn’t clear, but the department says it has the budget and manpower to keep the enhanced patrols going.
“It’s sustainable,” Hunter said. “We can keep up with what we’re doing. On a long-term basis.”
For now, Tampa police say they are reevaluating the situation after every enhanced patrol after speaking with local businesses and even visitors to gauge how many people are visiting on a given night and whether they're feeling any more comfortable about it.