Police chief addresses council about violence
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on August 2, 2016 1:46 PM
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Seth Combs
Police Chief Mike West addresses Mayor Chuck Allen and members of city council in Goldsboro on Monday night at City Hall. West mentioned the numerous murders in the city of late and assured the council members that he and the rest of the police force were working hard to improve the situation.
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Seth Combs
Mayor Chuck Allen speaks about the recent shooting deaths that have plagued the city.
The recent murders of a 19-year-old girl and a 32-year-old Seymour Johnson airman have brought Goldsboro's string of shooting violence close to home, Mayor Chuck Allen said Monday.
"We had a 19-year-old that we just buried last Friday, probably 600 people (were) at the funeral there," Allen said, during Monday's city council meeting. "It just brings tears to your eyes. We're not even over that and have a unity walk on Saturday, and then we have a murder of an airman Sunday morning. It's just senseless. It has just hit home."
Atiya Maddox, 19, fatally shot July 22 near the intersection of Olivia Lane and Slaughter Street after being caught in the crossfire from unidentified shooters who took shots at each other from two vehicles near the intersection.
Ryan Morgan, 32, a senior airman for the 4th Contracting Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base was also shot and died early Sunday morning during an incident along the 100 block of North Center Street.
The deaths add to the other six murders that have taken place in the city this year, said Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West. In total, there have been 12 murders throughout Wayne County this year, he said.
In Goldsboro, five of the murders remain unsolved, Allen said.
"We are very, very serious about making our policing and our city operations safer," Allen said. "This is probably the biggest problem we have right now.
"We need everybody. I have said and said and said, we are all strong together. We've got to stick together, and we've got to figure out how to get some of these folks off our streets."
West told the council that Goldsboro police are stepping up efforts to reduce crime by partnering with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office. Community policing remains a priority, and other efforts to track gang activity and reduce gang memberships are also taking place.
"You'll see more deputies in the city, working with us," West said. "It's going to take the community working with law enforcement to solve a lot of the crimes."
West said officers are working to break down barriers and build trust in the community through interaction, community events and other ground-level efforts. The department is also using more technology to solve crimes, including a shot spotter that uses acoustic sensors to triangulate the location of gunfire when shots are fired.
"It allows us to arrive on point when the shots are fired a whole lot sooner," West said.
The police department has created a gang suppression unit and work is taking place to track local gang activity, West said. Other efforts are ongoing to help gang members leave the lifestyle and prevent children from entering gangs.
"This trend has got to stop," West said. "I know that by talking with each of you in the past and over the last few months, that each one of you are committed to this community, to the city of Goldsboro, and I know that you're adamant to reduce the crime in the city.
"I want to reassure the public that I am just as committed as you are in doing that."
Allen added that officers need help from the public in tracking down criminals involved in the shootings, and suggested private support for increasing the Crime Stoppers threshold payment of $1,000 to anyone providing information leading to a felony arrest.
"We've got to do something to get our community talking and telling the police or somebody what's going on in this community because that's one of the only ways that we're going to get through this," Allen said.
"We've got these five unsolved murders, and these are bad people. They need to be off our streets.
"I think growing up, most of us used to fight or when getting our tails kicked, kicked somebody's tail. Today, these young folks are just shooting."
Councilman Mark Stevens said education is key in reducing crime and people need to find other ways to resolve conflict.
"We really need to come together and unite and try to find a way to solve our differences through different means than blowing someone away," Stevens said. "I'm seriously hurt by that. I think we all are."
Councilman Gene Aycock, who attended Saturday's unity prayer walk near the center of most of the city's crime activity, said the Maddox family attended, just one day after their daughter's funeral.
"The Maddox family just buried their daughter the day before, and they were there, and we walked past where their daughter was killed," Aycock said. "It had to be tough."
Aycock said it's going to take a larger community effort to stem the tide of violence.
"The whole community is what it's going to take," Aycock said. "It's got to be where we're willing to help bring out these criminals, get them arrested and put them where they belong."
Councilman Bevan Foster said action is the key.
"I just think we do a lot of talking, and it's time to stop talking," Foster said. ""It's time to actually do some work. We have got to get in our communities and take them back over."