City Leaders React to Violent Weekend in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WDEF-TV) – A disappointed mayor and angry police department leaders reacted strongly Monday to a rash of shootings over the weekend that threatened the city’s best efforts to stop the violence.

TRACY ARNOLD, ASSISTANT CHIEF "Chattanooga has experienced a very turbulent past week..including the past 48 hours of senseless violence. Our community has been the victim of 7 shootings, involving 11 victims, resulting in three homicides….this violence must stop."

Chief Fred Fletcher was at a meeting in Florida, but three assistant chiefs held a news conference to address an unusually violent weekend.
It seemed to fly in the face of the mayor’s Violence Reduction Initiative which has been in place since March.

MAYOR ANDY BERKE, CHATTANOOGA "We’ve just seen every kind of problem this weekend from domestic violence to group and gang shootings."

The city has been working the so-called"High Point Resolution" program. That’s where police make personal contract with hundreds of known gang members…warning them that if the shootings continue police will target that group. They have already sent 60 people to prison this year under the initiative..3 of them to federal prison where there is no parole.
But its hard to pinpoint the offenders.

LT. TODD ROYVAL, CHATTANOOGA POLICE DEPT. "Not all of them are gang related because some of the suspects we don’t know who they are. Once we find out who they are we’ll be able to change that obviously. But they’re not all gang related..there was one that was domestic violence."

Dr.Paul Smith heads the mayor’s Public safety initiative. He points to progress in halting some gang activity in its tracks.

DR.PAUL SMITH, PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR "The individuals who have asked for help…and who’ve called the number 805-8320..those individuals have gotten help and we have over 61 of those individuals have received jobs."

City leaders believe their programs will work as efforts are increased to reach the estimated point-5 percent of the population that is responsible for 56% of all crime in the city.
So far this year there have been 107 shootings with 118 victims.
There were 123 shootings in 2013.
The latest incident was at around 4 o’clock this morning.
28-year-old Terrance Lebron Bivens died from gunshot wounds at 3732 Central Avenue.
Police are asking for your help if you have any information about the murder.