The Dish- July 2023

Page 4

A week before Father’s Day a Fort Pierce man was shot and killed and the suspect got away. Police say42 year old Edwin Ruiz-Avila shot and killed Guillermo Barrientos Otero, a 35 year old father and another man who survived near the 800 block of South 21st Street. Ruiz is considered armed and dangerous and the case remains an active investigation.

On June 13th, three thugs robbed the Fort Pierce Discount Liquor Store on Okeechobee Road. During the robbery one of the suspects pulled a firearm and demanded money from the cash register. Another suspect went behind the counter and collected an undisclosed amount of cash while the gunmen stood by the door. The suspects then fled on foot.

On May 17th two masked men robbed the Rainbow Smoke Shop on 21st Street. One of the suspects brandished a weapon and demanded money from an employee. After taking an undisclosed amount of cash, the suspect ran toward the exit, where the second suspect was waiting at the door. Both suspects then fled the area on foot.

On May 8th, a masked man with an assault rifle robbed the Racetrack convenience store on Okeechobee Road. The suspect ordered the employee to open the cash register and fled the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. In the three armed robberies in Fort Pierce from May 8 - June 13th, all the suspects fled on foot. Fort Pierce resident Keyshia Aguilar said, “In Fort Pierce they always flee on foot and never get caught.” With the wave of recent robberies residents fear more violence. Hill Anita said, “We will see more of this now.”

The recent spree of violent robberies didn't stop the Fort Pierce Police Department from celebrating National Donut Day on June 2nd.

Deputy Chief Robert Riddle collected boxes of sweet treats for the rank and file.

Since Diane Hobley-Burney became Fort Pierce Police Chief in 2015, there have been at least 177 shootings in the city according to the gun violence database thetrace.org. In those shooting 84 people have been killed and 140 injured. A majority of the shootings occur in the northwest area of the city but a recent spree of armed robberies off of Okeechobee Road/ Virginia Ave have residents fearing that the violence in moving south.

Homicide

Shooting

The first prosecution of a former President of the United States is headed to Fort Pierce, and the City Mayor is only concerned about parking.

Despite hoards of savage vigilantes terrorizing the City this summer, Mayor Linda Hudson is only concerned about Downtown parking when Donald Trump's trial at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. Federal courthouse starts in August.

Hudson addressed the concerns in a recent interview with WPTV and said the City is working on a plan for the uptick in traffic congestion downtown.

In addition, the City of Fort Pierce posted a Civic Alert telling residents, "The City of Fort Pierce has initiated the preliminary stages of logistics planning for the federal trial involving former President Donald Trump.

The City of Fort Pierce will be working strategically with other local, state, and federal agencies to identify and implement best management practices to ensure the safety of the public and provide uninterrupted municipal services."

The Mayor has not addressed how the City will deal with the potential for riots and protests that may accompany the trial, nor how she will

prevent the violent crime that plagues the City just northwest of the Federal Courthouse from trickling Downtown during the trial.

Following the MLK Day mass shooting that killed a single mother in Fort Pierce, the Mayor pledged, “Our City is so safe.” Residents feel different.

The Mayor will have to protect the City from civil unrest without police officers specifically trained in special weapons and tactics (SWAT).

That's because Fort Pierce Police Chief Diane Hobley-Burney disbanded her department's SWAT team after she was hired.

“Trump's trial is coming to a City with high violent crime and no SWAT team. The Mayor should be more concerned about the safety of residents and guests than parking,” Sweeties owner and Community Activist Rick Reed says.

Fort Pierce Police Chief Diane-Hobley Burney and members of her staff gave an update on the Police Department at a Fort Pierce City Commission conference agenda meeting on June 12.

According to the Chief, since 2014, the Department has lost 128 police officers - most to voluntary separation. "That's a lot," the Chief told City Commissioners.

In the same time, the Department has hired 139 new police officers. "We have pretty much rehired the entire staff of the Fort Pierce Police Department, the Chief said.

The Department currently has 14 vacancies for certified police officers and has sponsored nine police officers to attend the police academy.

According to Florida Public Pension Trustee Association, it costs up to $240,000 to hire and fully train a new police officer.

With so many officers coming and going under Chief Hobley-Burney, residents are questioning if the lack of experience in the rank and file is the best way to police the streets.

The Chief's problem retaining experienced officers is most visible with her Department's Command Staff. Because no qualified officers

exist, the Chief has to hire agency commanders from outside the organization. Deputy Chief Kenny Norris and Major Carlos Rodriguez both came to Fort Pierce from the Tampa Police Department. Last month, the Chief hired a new Major, Michael Santiago, from the Lauderhill Police.

One former Commander the Chief brought in gave a scary look into the department operations under Hobley-Burney.

In 2015, Chief Hobley-Burney appointed Borthland Murray as a Special Investigator assigned to her office. A year later, he quit and wrote a scathing letter to Mayor Linda Hudson and City Commissioners.

"I have observed the systematic deterioration of the officer's morale, a disturbing trend of misuse of executive power by the Chief of Police, the failure to investigate policy violations, and negligent retention," Murray wrote.

Undoubtedly the constant change of officers and command staff along with the Chief's abuse of power is creating feelings of uncertainty and stress to officers faced with an already stressful job.

Residents believe the turmoil decreases the Department's ability to

protect the City.

"The Chief says she's focused on Community Policing but her agency Commanders are not from Fort Pierce - not event St. Lucie County," Community Activist and Sweeties owner Rick Reed said.

The Chief maintains that crime in the city is down under her watch and points to data that her agency produces on crime stats and reports to the FBI Uniform Crime Report.

Could the abuse of power that Murray wrote about be manipulating crime data by reclassifying serious crimes into lesser offenses?

Other Police Chiefs have been caught doing it, will Hobley-Burney be next?

Residents don't see the crime reduction, officers don't believe in staying at the agency, and according to Police Officials, the City is under siege.

Historically, most of the City's crime occurs in the northwest, but that's changing.

In the annual Police Department Update, the Chief addressed the rising calls for police service.

According to Police Department data calls to the Fort Pierce Police Department have

significantly increased over the past five years.

Most concerning is zone 210, the Okeechobee Road corridor, where officers now respond more than ever, at least 21 times a day.

At the Police Department Update, a patrol Lieutenant told City Commissioners the increased calls are straining patrol officers.

According to Police Department data Fort Pierce Police Officers respond to approximately 80,000 calls for service a year.

"You have inexperienced officers responding to increased calls while being managed by transplant police commanders. The robberies off Okeechobee Road are no surprise and the Chief’s position that crime in Fort Pierce is down is a delusion and pure fiction,” Reed says.