Council hears urgent calls for more visible policing after downtown shooting

Council members and residents spent a large portion of Monday’s meeting urging more visible, preventive policing after a fatal shooting in the downtown entertainment district.

During the public comment period, restaurateur Ed Fortune said the mayor and administration had failed to provide the police presence his neighborhood needs and accused city leadership of inadequate responses after repeated calls for patrols. Fortune said social‑media footage from the night before the shooting showed large crowds and few officers, and he warned that lack of patrols had predictable consequences.

"If there was a police officer out there on these weekends, there would be no shootings out there on weekends," Fortune said (Ed Fortune). Several other residents described hot‑spot areas where crowds gather outside late‑night venues and asked why officers were not deployed proactively.

Police Director Steve Wilson, who addressed the council at the president’s request, declined to discuss details of the active homicide investigation but told members the department is covering city hotspots and is actively hiring. He said academy training takes months — a class of 14 is scheduled to graduate in October and another cadre in September — and acknowledged the department is working to restore staffing lost in prior years.

"We will hire and continue to hire until we fill our vacancies," Wilson said, adding that homicide counts remain low year‑to‑date but that any loss of life is unacceptable (Steve Wilson). He also warned that enforcement alone will not solve the problem and suggested council and administration revisit entertainment‑district policies, including hours of operation.

Council members agreed the situation requires both short‑term operational changes and longer‑term investments. Councilwoman Edwards said prevention and visible patrols are essential and called on the administration to provide leadership and staffing; Councilwoman Feliciano urged state or regional assistance to supplement local deployments; Councilman Harrison emphasized community accountability and enforcement; and Vice President Williams encouraged residents with information to report it to assist investigations.

The council did not adopt new policing policy at the meeting; instead members asked the administration for updates on shared‑service deployments and for operational plans that can improve prevention and response. The meeting moved into executive session with an expectation council would return with at least one formal vote on a pending matter.