2026-09-24 - Office of Community Safety

00:06and welcome to the Hicks Anderson

00:08Community Center. My name is Gregory

00:10Lloyd Morris and I'm special assistant

00:12to the mayor for community engagement.

00:16Thank you to our residents, community

00:17partners, city leaders, and agency

00:20representatives for being here tonight.

00:23We're here because recent violence has

00:26caused loss, fear, and serious concern

00:30across Wilmington.

00:32Residents deserve to know how the city

00:34and its partners respond when violence

00:37affects a neighborhood, who is

00:39responsible for each part of that

00:41response, and how the community will

00:43receive timely information. Tonight

00:47brings public safety, outreach, youth

00:50and family services, housing, planning,

00:53economic development, and community

00:56leadership into one room. We will

00:59explain the first seven days of the

01:01coordinated response, listen to

01:04community concerns, and strengthen commu

01:07communication and accountability across

01:10the fiveprong approach.

01:14Before we continue, I ask everyone if

01:17able to stand

01:20and join us in a moment of silence for

01:22those lives that have been lost, those

01:26who have been shot and injured, and the

01:28families and communities carrying the

01:30pain of these acts of violence.

01:48Thank you. You may be seated.

01:56I'd like to now bring up

01:59as he leads the house in prayer, also

02:02welcoming the leader of our faith

02:04community,

02:06Bishop George Gibson.

02:16Let us pray.

02:19Hon, in you we live, we move and have

02:22our being

02:24for this time that we come together to

02:28talk about solutions and

02:31opportunities of peace and unity.

02:35We ask your blessing upon us.

02:38Thank you for all our leaders who have

02:41come out tonight

02:43and those who have the mind to unify

02:48hearts and spirits that we will bring

02:51about resolve and peace to our city.

02:54Bless us now in our deliberation. Bless

02:56us now in our time of strategy.

03:00Keep us in the hollow of your hand. We

03:02commend the city into your hand because

03:06no other hand is as secure as thine.

03:09Bless us now as we talk and as we think

03:13through how we can have a better

03:16Wilmington, a better Delaware

03:19and a better community connected and

03:23cooperative. We thank you now in Jesus

03:26name. All the people said amen.

03:28>> Amen.

03:32Thank you, Bishop. [sighs]

03:36We are honored to have Mayor John Carney

03:38with us tonight. As mayor, he leads the

03:41city administration and help sets

03:44Wilmington's priorities for public

03:46safety, housing, neighborhood services,

03:48and economic opportunity. Mayor Carney,

03:51thank you for joining our residents and

03:53partners tonight here at Hicks Anderson

03:55this evening. Please welcome Mayor John

03:58Carney.

04:06I'm going to see if this works.

04:09I've been in here before where it works

04:11and times where it doesn't work so well.

04:13I'm not going to take a lot of your

04:14time, but I just want to say a few words

04:17to set the table. First of all, it warms

04:21my heart to see so many familiar faces,

04:24individuals that have been working to

04:27stem the tide of violence here in our

04:29city for many, many years. This has been

04:32a huge priority for me going back to my

04:36days as Lieutenant Governor when then

04:38Mayor Baker asked if I would chair the

04:41the Hope Commission, the Wilmington Hope

04:42Commission, and we talked about, I'm

04:44sure, a lot of the things that we're

04:46going to talk about tonight.

04:49I get fairly regular briefings

04:52from our police department, from our

04:54chief and his staff, and honestly, it

04:57breaks my heart when I think of the

04:59young people mostly that are involved

05:02with the gun violence here in our city,

05:03in particular neighborhoods in

05:05particular.

05:06And so, one of the priorities that I've

05:08had for a long time, going back to my

05:10days as lieutenant [snorts] governor, is

05:12to address those conditions here in our

05:15city that we can.

05:17And so as I look at my term as governor

05:20and the investments that we've made,

05:21particularly on the east side, I must

05:22say, working with then Mayor Pziki, in

05:26housing, in a brand new school, in a new

05:30people's settlement that will that will

05:32cut ribbon on tomorrow and the youth

05:35development center, thinking about the

05:37northeast with that unbelievable

05:40development up there and the investments

05:43that we've also made in what we call

05:45group violence intervention.

05:47group violence intervention. For many,

05:50many years, the violence in our city and

05:53cities like ours and much larger cities

05:56has been the result of groups and gangs

05:58that fight with one another.

06:01And so I latched on to a theory from a

06:06professor by the name of Kennedy who

06:09came up with an approach to that which

06:11he called group violent intervention.

06:14And we hired a guy named John Cook. And

06:17most of who you'll hear from tonight

06:19will be John because we just hired him

06:23to be our director of community safety.

06:26And so John's going to bring to the

06:28conversation tonight his experience with

06:30respect to group violence. And we've

06:33seen some decline, although recently an

06:35uptick in in group violence here in the

06:37city. But over the last couple years

06:40since that program has been working, and

06:44by the way, it's it's not really a law

06:47enforcement approach necessarily.

06:50I don't want to get in over my head

06:52here, but it's more a kind of social

06:56service outreach to those that are

06:58involved in these groups and gangs.

07:01We have a very good law enforcement

07:05approach to it, and you'll hear about

07:07that tonight. You're not going to hear

07:08some specifics about the individual

07:11occurrences that we've had recently

07:14because they're still under

07:15investigation and it could compromise

07:18that. But you're going to hear we have,

07:19by the way, the best chief and team in

07:22any police department that I've

07:24encountered. Chief Campos is first rate

07:28and his team the same. But guess what?

07:32You can't do it all with a law

07:33enforcement approach. That's an

07:35important part of it. We'll talk a

07:38little bit about that. But also has to

07:40be building up the whole community,

07:43strengthening and stabilizing the whole

07:45community. And that's why our approach

07:48to this issue is uh what we call in

07:51other cities have called the whole city

07:53approach which includes LNI. It includes

07:57planning, includes housing. drive around

08:00the east side if you haven't recently

08:02see all the new housing that mostly was

08:04a result of Mayor Mike's investments of

08:07federal money that came into the city.

08:09Same thing in the northeast as I said

08:11coming soon 30 town houses at an

08:14affordable level in South Bridge. And we

08:17got to keep doing that kind of work as

08:20we stem the tide for some of these young

08:22folks who are too ready to pick up a gun

08:25and use it on somebody else.

08:29I'm here because I believe that as a

08:32city, we can and will work together. I

08:35hope everybody brings that same attitude

08:38to the room tonight because the only way

08:41we're going to be successful in stemming

08:43this violence is if we work together. I

08:47see that council president has come. I

08:49know their council members behind me. I

08:50want to thank them for their partnership

08:52and working together. And with that, I'm

08:55turn it back over to Greg. Thank you all

08:58for coming. Thank you all for coming.

09:05Appreciate it.

09:07Thank you, Mayor. We appreciate you.

09:12To help ground tonight's gathering in

09:14faith, responsibility, and shared

09:17partnership, it is my honor to welcome

09:20back

09:22Bishop Gibson, IMAC director and bishop

09:25for our opening talk on faith and

09:28leadership. Bishop Gibson, thank you for

09:31helping us begin this evening with

09:33reflection and purpose. Ladies and

09:34gentlemen, once again, Bishop George

09:36Gibson.

09:43Good evening to you all, mayor and and

09:47our chief and to all our executives. We

09:51appreciate your presence.

09:54I I want to talk

09:57about from problems to possibilities.

10:03It is honor to stand with you tonight as

10:06we come together and I thank John for

10:09this invitation

10:11under one common cause

10:14building safer,

10:16stronger,

10:18healthier neighborhoods for our families

10:21and our children.

10:24I could stand here tonight and talk

10:26about everything that has happened in

10:29our communities.

10:31I could talk about violence.

10:34I could talk about poverty.

10:37I could talk about families struggling,

10:39businesses closing,

10:42or young people searching for direction.

10:48But we already know the problems.

10:52Tonight I want to talk about the

10:54solutions

10:57because identifying the problem may

11:00create awareness

11:03but building a solution creates change.

11:09The message that brought us together

11:12reminds us that

11:14motivation alone is not enough.

11:19We need a strategy for

11:22solutions.

11:25And that is what I appreciate

11:27about Wilmington United.

11:32The fiveprong approach recognizes

11:36something important.

11:38We cannot address violence without

11:41addressing the conditions surrounding

11:44our families.

11:47Community safety matters,

11:52but so does housing,

11:55and so does neighborhood stability.

12:00So does helping individuals experience

12:03homelessness,

12:05receiving the services and supports they

12:08need.

12:09So does investing in blackowned

12:11businesses, local inter local

12:15entrepreneurs, and our commercial

12:18corridors so that economic opportunities

12:21exist right here in our neighborhoods.

12:26Perhaps most importantly,

12:28so does investing in our young people

12:32before they reach a point of crisis.

12:35Our children need more than someone

12:39telling them what not to do.

12:43They need someone showing them what is

12:46possible.

12:48They need mentors. They need educators.

12:51They need opportunities. They need safe

12:53spaces.

12:56They need adults who know their names,

12:59recognize their gifts, hold them

13:02accountable,

13:03and refuse to give up on them.

13:07And our families need to know that they

13:11are not expected to do this work alone.

13:17The message before us says that we must

13:19rebuild strong and resilient

13:21neighborhoods one family at a time.

13:28That is the work.

13:31We strengthen the family.

13:33We support the neighborhood.

13:36We invest in blackowned businesses.

13:40We create opportunities for young

13:42people. and we work together not in

13:45silos

13:47but as one Wilmington.

13:50So when we leave here tonight, let us

13:52not simply ask what is the city going to

13:56do,

13:58but let us ask what can I do?

14:02What can my church do?

14:05What can my business do?

14:08What can our schools do? What can our

14:12community organizations do?

14:16And most importantly, what can we

14:18accomplish when we do it together?

14:22Our neighborhoods are not hopeless.

14:27They are full of hope.

14:29Our young people are not problems to be

14:32solved.

14:33They are potential awaiting to be

14:37developed. Our communities are not

14:40defined by our challenges. They will be

14:43defined by what we choose to build next.

14:48So, Wilmington, let us build.

14:51Let us restore. Let us reconnect. Let us

14:54invest.

14:56And let us create neighborhoods where

14:58our children can grow up not simply

15:02surviving, but dreaming, achieving,

15:05leading, and thriving.

15:08So to you tonight, heads up,

15:12hearts up, guns down,

15:16and together Wilmington, let us rise.

15:20I still believe as a preacher, prophet

15:22of God, that a saved community is a safe

15:27community.

15:34Thank you, Bishop

15:37>> [clears throat]

15:41>> Chief Wilfredo Campos leads the

15:43Wilmington Police Department.

15:46His team is responsible for public

15:48safety investigations,

15:51verified incident information,

15:54intelligence, patrol, deployment, and

15:56enforcement.

15:58Chief Campos, thank you for your

16:00leadership and for being here tonight.

16:01Ladies and gentlemen, WPD Chief Wilfredo

16:04Campos.

16:12Good evening.

16:15Thank you all for having me here

16:17tonight. Just have a a few comments.

16:20So, I've been your police chief for the

16:23last almost roughly four years, but I've

16:26been a part of this police department

16:28for 30 years. And I seen the es and

16:30flows of of violence in the early 2000s,

16:34late 90s, in the mid uh middle of the

16:38last decade, and then most recently my

16:41last four years police chief. What I do

16:43know is that we have an incredible,

16:46incredible police department full of

16:48dedicated police officers. Some of which

16:50are here today, some of my command staff

16:53and some police officers in the back as

16:55well as part of our community engagement

16:56unit.

16:59But what I do know as well is that we

17:00have incredible partners.

17:03I have an incredible support system with

17:06the mayor, the chief of staff, a deputy

17:09chief of staff, city council, city

17:12council president.

17:14Whenever we have an incident in the city

17:16of Wilmington, a shooting, a homicide,

17:21one of the first things I do is I I get

17:23a phone call

17:25in the middle of the night, in the

17:26morning, whenever it happens, and I get

17:28the information, and we ask the

17:30questions of

17:32how did this happen, why did it happen,

17:35who did it, and how can we hold someone

17:38accountable?

17:40And then after that,

17:43that same information is relayed to the

17:46mayors and the administration as well.

17:49Some of that information is shared with

17:52city council as well.

17:55And that's all to make sure that we're

17:57on the same page.

17:59Now, we know that we've made progress in

18:01this city,

18:03but we continue to have bumps in the

18:05road. We continue to have those issues.

18:10But we're going to continue to fight.

18:12We're going to continue to do our job.

18:15We're going to continue to make this

18:17city as safe as we can.

18:22As a chief, as the chief of this police

18:24department, every week I have four

18:27meetings with my command staff and we

18:31talk about everything that happened over

18:32the weekend. We talk about everything

18:34that happened during the week and

18:36everything that happened that's going to

18:37come up on the weekend to make sure that

18:39we're prepared.

18:41But that's not enough. That's why we

18:44send our community engagement officers

18:45out to the community meetings to make

18:47sure that we understand and that we hear

18:49directly from the residents of what is

18:52happening in each certain neighborhood

18:54of our city because we know every

18:55neighborhood is different.

18:59We want to make sure that we work with

19:00all of you to continue to drive crime

19:04down in this city and make it as safe as

19:07we can. Now, I know that's an ongoing

19:11struggle. There's frustrations, but I

19:14can tell you this,

19:16as your chief,

19:18my commitment is unwavering. I know that

19:22behind every shooting, behind every

19:24homicide, there's a family. there's

19:26someone who's grieving

19:28and I feel that. I understand that.

19:35>> So, I can make you this promise that

19:36we're going to continue to do that.

19:38We're going to continue to do our job

19:39and we're going to continue to focus on

19:41those individuals who are causing the

19:43most issues.

19:51talking

20:14the change.

20:18Sorry.

20:30So, as I said, we're going to continue

20:32to do our job.

20:34We're going to continue to make this

20:35city as safe as possible. That is my

20:37commitment to you and that is my

20:39promise. Thank you.

20:59Thank you, Chief.

21:01>> Appreciate you.

21:10Director John Cook coordinates the

21:12city's community safety response. He

21:15brings agencies, partners together,

21:19maintains the action plan and helps

21:21ensure that responsibilities are clear

21:24during the first seven days following

21:26serious violence. Ladies and gentlemen,

21:28our director of community safety, Mr.

21:30John Cook.

21:42I am sorry.

22:00doing.

22:02>> This is the first time since my son been

22:05shot. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I GET TO

22:06SEE THE WHOLE PODIUM.

22:10>> The whole podium, MAN. IT'S BEEN 92

22:12DAYS. NOT ONE PART, NOT ONE PERSON COME

22:15TO MY SON AND MY SON'S MOM AND COME

22:18KNOCK ON THE DOOR AND BE LIKE

22:19TRANSPARENT. WHERE IS HE?

22:22>> Who's the officer?

22:24>> I'm scared.

22:25>> Yo, I am so scared. Y'all won't get his

22:28bold name up. BUT HERE IT IS. I'M

22:31WALKING THE STREETS.

22:33My son name is Blaster.

22:36My name is Blaster.

22:38>> WHY HIS NAME AIN'T BEING BLASTER?

22:41WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? IF I DID SOMETHING,

22:44MY NAME WOULD BE ALL OVER THE STREETS.

22:46OH, EVERYBODY NOW. EVERYBODY KNOW. THE

22:50ONE THING I DO, ONE THING I DO,

22:52EVERYBODY NOW. GOD KNOW. [screaming]

22:53Y'ALL DON'T KICK MY DOOR.

22:57>> 48 hours.

22:59>> It's been 70 IT'S BEEN 82 80 87 DAYS.

23:03YOU KNOW [screaming] HOW I SLEEP? I

23:05don't

23:07I don't sleep. DO YOU KNOW WHY IT'S NO

23:10TRANSPARENCY?

23:12MAYBE IF I HAD A

23:14TRANSPARENCY AND I'LL BE OKAY. I CAN

23:16SLEEP. ALL Y'ALL EAT DONUTS.

23:20THAT'S WHEN I EAT NOTHING.

23:24I LOST 30 LBS. I'M NOT HEALTHY.

23:32My manure is My manure is brown. YOU

23:35KNOW WHAT THAT MEAN?

23:38I ain't living right.

24:01Ladies and gentlemen,

24:05what we are experiencing

24:07is a father

24:10that is hurting.

24:13Come on.

24:16[applause]

24:18And I am not here to defend.

24:22I am here to ensure

24:26that every child that walked in this

24:28street has the ability to walk in peace.

24:33[applause]

24:37My first client

24:40as a director for GVI

24:42was someone that I loved,

24:45someone that I respected,

24:47and someone that I honored. His name was

24:51Kurt Flowers.

24:53His brother name was Kindell.

24:56I remember when I met him. I walked him

25:01to Elamir.

25:03We spoke. We hugged and I loved him.

25:09And he told me, he said

25:14that I couldn't repay you,

25:17but you took the moment to love me.

25:23My name is John Cook and I'm the

25:24community safety director

25:28and I chose this position in a very

25:30peculiar time.

25:33In fact, I don't even know how I got

25:34here. And some of my Muslim friends said

25:39that it was just a moment that God

25:41appointed you for a time as this.

25:47Brother, I want to say to you

25:49from the bottom of my spirit that I'm

25:52sorry.

25:59[applause]

26:02>> Don't clap. Y'ALL DON'T DESERVE THIS.

26:06You don't deserve this. This is real.

26:09THIS IS WHAT I WANTED.

26:12A little closure.

26:25Stop and running from me, man. Why? I'm

26:28a man just like y'all. You white shirts.

26:31I'm Excuse me. You Okay, I'm not going

26:32to take over. I'm not going to take

26:34nothing. I'm going to sit here and be

26:35quiet because this is the first time.

26:37This is the first time. This is the

26:39first time I got to see the whole

26:41podium.

26:43>> The whole podium.

26:47THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

26:49WHY ARE Y'ALL DOING THIS FOR?

26:52Are y'all really for the community?

26:54>> Are you You've been You've [laughter]

26:55been You've been a police officer for

26:57how long?

26:58What? You You done WHERE ARE YOU? YOU

27:02KNOW, you locked me up.

27:17So

27:19once again what we are experiencing live

27:25is the process and beginning of healing

27:31ever.

27:33I remember when I first accepted the

27:35position,

27:37a mother called and said, "Mr. Cook,

27:41I believe that my son might have a

27:43pistol

27:45and he feel like he's homicidal." So,

27:47it's a difference between homicidal and

27:48suicidal.

27:50And I remember knocking on the door and

27:53I went inside of his house and he was

27:55curled up in the corner. Where's coach?

27:57Coach, if you're here, raise your hand.

28:01and he was called up in the corner and

28:04he said, "I feel like I want to kill

28:07everybody that's outside."

28:10And coach said, "What is it that we can

28:12do to make things better?"

28:15And he said, "I don't know what to do.

28:19You the professional."

28:22I remember this kid, where's Cory

28:24Priest?

28:26We got a call from probation and parole

28:29and they were fighting in Cherry Lane.

28:32And Cory bought one group and I bought

28:34one group.

28:36And the kid said, "I want to kill you."

28:39He said, "Because you shot me and I

28:42don't even know you."

28:44And Corey said, "How do you shoot a man

28:47that you don't know?" And the boy said,

28:49"Because you were over there."

28:53The hardest thing in the world to do is

28:56to preach safety when you have a father

28:59morning. But I'mma try

29:02because for I reckon the suffering of

29:04yesterday is unworthy to compare to the

29:07glory that God has for you.

29:11When you being pulled in two different

29:12directions, the best way is to go

29:14straight.

29:16I can't build a bridge for what

29:18happened, but I can guarantee that

29:22there's someone up there saying, "I'm

29:24tired of our kids dying."

29:29What do you do when a kid say

29:33that the only time I'm seen when I'm in

29:36front of the court of law?

29:41What do you do when you put a kid in a

29:43position to work? And he said, "Mr.

29:45Hook. I cannot work here.

29:48You wonder why I wear a face mask?

29:51Because the little bit of integrity I

29:53got, I don't want every and each person

29:55to die just because I am there.

29:59What do you do when you haven't met your

30:01father

30:03and he lives right across the street?

30:06Mr. Cook, what do you mean you're going

30:07to love me when my own father hasn't

30:11cared for me in decades?

30:15The trouble thing the person said,

30:16"Listen, why don't you build a new

30:18school?"

30:22He said, "Well, why don't you build a

30:23playground?" I said, "Well, these kids

30:24that I'm talking about in in school,

30:27they ain't in the playground."

30:30The hardest thing to attain is something

30:32that you can't see.

30:35It's called peace.

30:38It's inside of you. It's free, but it's

30:41the hardest thing to attain.

30:43The hardest thing to find is love and

30:46it's free.

30:50It's inside of you. The hardest thing to

30:53find is hope

30:55and it's free.

30:57So, as I'm writing my SOPs

31:00and my parameters to building the Office

31:02of Violence Prevention, there is no

31:04writing for how do you teach love to

31:08your community?

31:10How do you teach peace to your

31:11community? Listen.

31:13My dad used to do some obscene things to

31:16my mother as though he didn't know her.

31:20And then he got the nerve to commit

31:21suicide.

31:25And I always thought to myself, well,

31:26wasn't I good enough for you to walk me

31:29to school or take me to a basketball

31:31game?

31:34Or maybe you showed up when I graduated.

31:42I found the father in my community.

31:44People that said it was okay to be

31:47better. Here's what we got right now.

31:51We got a little kid getting off the bus

31:55and all around them is heroin,

31:58drugs,

32:00abuse, prostitution. And the teacher

32:02SAID, "WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN

32:04you get older?" Hey, how could I be

32:08anything if all I see is destruction?

32:11Wington, we got a problem.

32:15The probable analysis is stating that

32:18the top shooter right now is between the

32:21ages of 13 and 16

32:25with guns this long.

32:28That's long guns. Wilington, we got a

32:31problem. And if we don't unite

32:36and stand together,

32:38our people will perish, one person at a

32:42time.

32:44I don't care about a position. In fact,

32:46I don't even know why I accepted the

32:48position.

32:49I thought I was somebody. The thousand

32:52people told me I wasn't. I had to pray

32:55about it. I said, "But God, I thought I

32:57was somebody." Then somebody said, "You

32:59you might not be." And I said, 'Well,

33:01guess what? I want to learn how to build

33:05with each and every person here.

33:08Give me the feedback that I need. The

33:12feedback was real.

33:15The feedback was real. I accept it and I

33:20will be a part of the solution.

33:23Thank you for your time. Thank you for

33:25giving me opportunity.

33:29But I want to make one thing clear

33:32that this is a unified effort.

33:37That Wilmington is still the best city.

33:41We had some hardships. We have some

33:43mountains to climb.

33:46But if you believe, like I believe,

33:48you'll take a position where you got to

33:50start from scratch.

33:57>> [applause]

34:04>> Thank you, [clears throat] director.

34:09As we talk more about the violence

34:12prevention and community response,

34:14wanted to introduce Mr. Javar Simpson.

34:17He's the director of group violence

34:19intervention. Javar Simpson leads GVI.

34:22When group and gang involvement and the

34:24possibility of retaliation

34:26are confirmed, GVI helps organize

34:30targeted engagement, deescalation, and

34:33an individual response, an individual

34:36response plan, excuse me. Please welcome

34:38Mr. Director Javar Simpson.

34:42[applause]

34:47Good evening, everybody. My name is

34:48Javar Simpson. I'm the current interim

34:50director of group violence intervention.

34:53John, you're a tough fact to follow,

34:54brother. [laughter]

34:56Um,

34:57Group Violence Intervention,

34:59we are an initiative that is geared

35:02towards reducing gun violence throughout

35:04the state. I know we're here to talk

35:06about Wilmington, but just wanted to

35:08mention we are statewide. So, our main

35:12priority is to work with individuals who

35:15have been identified as the most likely

35:17to either shoot or be shot. We provide

35:21um opportunities for these individuals

35:24to stabilize them, to get them off the

35:25streets, to provide decent opportunities

35:28for living, for um careers and things of

35:31that nature. We focus on providing, you

35:34know, key skiing in on social

35:35determinance of life, ensuring that they

35:37have appropriate employment

35:39opportunities, ensuring that they have

35:40appropriate education opportunities,

35:42ensuring that they have appropriate uh

35:44mental health um access, uh hospital

35:47access, things of that nature in order

35:49to ensure that they're stabilized and

35:51are able to move forward and progressive

35:53as good citizens here in Wilmington. Um,

35:57I understand we definitely have an

35:59issue, a problem, and a concern here in

36:01Wilmington, and we're here to address.

36:04As a GVI, we work in collaboration with

36:08everybody here at the table. It's not a

36:10a solo effort. It's not just a police

36:12effort. It's not just a council effort.

36:14It's not just a GVI effort. we have to

36:16collaborate amongst each other in order

36:18to ensure that the appropriate resources

36:20and appropriate capacity is provided to

36:23assist in the in the issues that we're

36:26we're we're trying to um solve. Um,

36:29another thing that GVI is, you know, is

36:32is geared to do, whenever there's a

36:34shooting, you know, there is a plan.

36:36Everybody here is a part of that overall

36:38plan to respond to that shooting.

36:41Everybody has a different capacity. For

36:43GVI, our capacity is to provide uh

36:46community support. It's to provide

36:48anti-retaly messaging, which means we

36:51hear, you know, we receive a shooting. I

36:53get like John said and like Chief Campo

36:55said, we get uh you know soon as a a

36:58incident occurs I whether it's 5:00 in

37:01the morning on Saturday or it's in the

37:02evening time I get a a text with within

37:06our group and within our group is saying

37:08hey you know this just happened it's

37:10time for us to respond. GVI's response

37:12is who is the victim? Who were the

37:16affiliated individuals around that

37:17victim? and we want to be able to

37:19identify them so that way we can go out

37:21and provide an anti- retaliatory

37:23message. The anti-retaly message is

37:25simple. Hey, we understand something

37:28tragic just happened. However, if you go

37:30out and do

37:32compile on that, it doesn't help the

37:35situation. So, we were here to, you

37:37know, provide that message of there's no

37:39please put down the guns. Let's figure

37:41out a way that we can talk about this,

37:43work through this, solve this. And the

37:45way that we're doing that is providing

37:47these individuals resources like I spoke

37:50about earlier. Employment, education,

37:53mental health access, um physical health

37:56access, all those things are extremely

37:59important components to allowing an

38:01individual to be successful. Anybody who

38:04doesn't have those vital components,

38:06basic needs, basic needs, the likelihood

38:09of their success, the likelihood of them

38:11being able to move forward is decreased.

38:14So, our job, plain and simple, is to

38:17provide help and support to community

38:19members who are most likely to either be

38:22involved in a shooting as the shooter or

38:25to be on the other side as the person

38:28who was shot. Um, when that occurs, we

38:31pop into action. We work in

38:33collaboration with our our our fellow

38:35entities and organizations to ensure

38:37that we provide

38:40appropriate response. And and I will say

38:42before I close um you know I've been

38:45working with GVI I've been at GVI for

38:47the over the past seven years um and

38:50there is always you know there's es and

38:52flows to things es and flows and over

38:55our time you know statistics we look at

38:57statistics all the time and you know

39:01statistics show that the violence is

39:04decreasing. However I will say one

39:07shooting is one shooting too much. So

39:10even though that the statistics are

39:11showing that violence is going down, we

39:13can clearly see over the last two weeks,

39:15three weeks here in Wilmington, that

39:17uptick that EB is on an upflow. So

39:19that's one, two, three shootings too

39:21many. So our job is to be consistent in

39:24our approach is to be uh uh use fidelity

39:28in regards to working with our partners

39:30and ensure that we can make Wilmington a

39:33safe place. Thank you for your time.

39:38Thank you, director.

39:40Um, like to now bring up the attorney

39:43general's director of community

39:45engagement and GI GVI strategic officer,

39:48Mr. Corey Priest, connects communities

39:51across the state with holistic services.

39:55In addition to being GVI strategist, his

39:58role helps partners understand relevant

40:01group dynamics and coordinate focus,

40:04support, and accountability. Please

40:06welcome Mr. Corey Priest.

40:16Good evening.

40:19So, first I want to thank uh all you who

40:21are in tennis tonight. Uh really it's a

40:24be if you look around it's a beautiful

40:25sight to see. Uh it's really a beautiful

40:27sight to see man that all y'all in here

40:29for this common goal of a safe a safe

40:32community in the city of Wilmington. Uh

40:34my name is Corey Priest. I'm the

40:35director of community engagement for the

40:37office of the attorney general. I've

40:39been in this role for seven and a half

40:40years. Uh and quite frankly it's a role

40:43that I I've never would have fathom in

40:45my life to be in. You know I'm from the

40:47Southbridge projects in 2013 in Jessup.

40:50No, attorney general had the had had the

40:52courage to hire me as the community

40:54engagement specialist seven years ago. I

40:57rose through the ranks. I'm now the

40:58director of community engagement for the

40:59office of the attorney general. I'm

41:01going to keep my words brief for the

41:03mere fact that I want to hear y'all

41:04questions. Uh so we got a couple more

41:06people after me. Uh but I'm going to

41:08keep mine a little brief. Uh and so when

41:11we look at each other and we understand

41:13what's going on in our community, we all

41:14know what the answers and solutions are.

41:17We can't work in silos when we talking

41:18about our young people who are losing

41:20their lives at alarming rates in our

41:22city. We got to work together. We got to

41:24come together and we got to work in

41:26unison uh to address these issues

41:28whether it's school issues, community

41:30issues, or the system in its whole. We

41:32got to come together. We can't work in

41:34silos. We got to put our pride to the

41:36side and we got to do what's right for

41:38the people of our community, especially

41:40of our young folks. So, I'm gonna keep

41:42it short and this that's all I have.

41:44Please ask ask some questions. Uh, and

41:46and I would love I'm a open book, y'all.

41:48Um, and I think we need to get level

41:51with this issue here. We can't beat

41:52around the bush. We got to hold our

41:55people's accountable, our elected

41:56officials accountable, our community

41:58partners are accountable, and our

42:00neighbors accountable.

42:01I mean, so that's all I got. I can't

42:04wait for you guys to ask ask y'all

42:06questions uh so we can get down to the

42:08nitty-gritty. We need the solutions. We

42:10need uh uh uh uh out of the box thinking

42:14solutions. Now, I mean, we already know

42:16the little simple things. We got to

42:17really get gut level and talk about

42:19innovative solutions to tackle this

42:21issue, and we need to put the dollars

42:23behind it.

42:25Thank you.

42:30Thank you, Corey. Um, we also want to

42:33address neighborhood stability and

42:35support.

42:37Like to introduce to you our

42:38commissioner of licensing and

42:39inspection, Mr. Gabriel Pabone.

42:42Commissioner Gabriel Pabone leads the

42:44city's work involving property

42:46conditions,

42:47code concerns, nuisance properties, and

42:50vacant and unsafe buildings. His

42:54department helps address physical

42:55conditions that affect neighborhood

42:58safety and stability. Ladies and

43:00gentlemen, Commissioner Gabriel Pabone.

43:12First, I want to start by saying thank

43:14you to Mr. Cook, the mayor for adding me

43:16to this group. Um, license and

43:18inspections. A lot of the work we do is,

43:20as uh, Mr. Morris said, is we regulate

43:23properties. So, a lot of people think,

43:26you know, what does that have to do a

43:27lot with crime? I say it has to do a lot

43:30with crime, right? Mr. Cook stood right

43:32here and say, "How does a child go to

43:34school and feel that he can become

43:36something when all he see is vacant

43:38properties and homes in our neighborhood

43:40have been not been taken care of?" I

43:43believe that way for way too long we've

43:45allowed people to come into our

43:46neighborhood, own homes in our

43:49neighborhoods and not take care of them,

43:51right? Vacant properties,

43:54owners that are having properties that

43:56are not regulating them are not keeping

43:59them safe. That is the work that we do,

44:01right? The work that I and my team is

44:05looking to do is to enforce the code to

44:07ensure that people are keeping their

44:09properties that are taking care of their

44:11properties that we don't have properties

44:13in our neighborhoods that people are

44:16able to hide in, right? Do do a lot of

44:21just crime and just alleys that are just

44:24unkempt. So that's the work that we're

44:27here to do. Um, I have, again, I'm here.

44:30So, if you guys have any questions on

44:32license and inspections, I can tell you

44:33that we're going through the city. We're

44:35looking at all the properties. We're

44:37looking at all the vacant properties.

44:38We're holding all owners accountable

44:39regardless of who you are. We are making

44:42sure that these properties are being

44:43kept up and that they're being

44:45maintained and owners have license. So,

44:48thank you for having me here and uh, you

44:51know, for to hear any of your questions.

44:53Thank you.

44:57Thank you, Commissioner. Now, I'd like

44:59to bring up our commissioner of land use

45:01and planning, Elliot Lkins. Supports

45:05land use and planning coordination. His

45:08role helps connect community safety

45:10concerns with responsible planning,

45:13environmental conditions, and long-term

45:15neighborhood improvements. Uh, please

45:17welcome Commissioner Elliot Lkins.

45:26Good evening everyone.

45:28I'd like to thank Director Cook and the

45:31mayor for inviting me.

45:35It's humbling to stand in front of you

45:36today.

45:40But I want to share a little bit about

45:41what land use and planning does. Land

45:44use and planning is responsible for the

45:47responsible planning and growth of the

45:50city.

45:52that involves construction, development,

45:55neighborhood planning, business

45:58compliance.

46:00Many of those things go unnoticed, but

46:03they affect everything that we do. We're

46:06responsible for

46:08tracking how well we move through our

46:11comprehensive plan, how we grow as a

46:15city, how our communities are able to be

46:18safe, understanding what factors need to

46:21change in the community in order to

46:24increase the safety.

46:26There are small changes that can make a

46:28big difference. whether it be

46:30transportation, whether it be more eyes

46:34on the street, and a lot of that comes

46:37through our built environment.

46:39Another side of it is compliance with

46:42the zoning code and business compliance.

46:45We're responsible for overseeing

46:46businesses, making sure that they're

46:48licensed within the city, and also

46:51making sure that they're upholding to

46:54those licenses that they have. So when

46:57there are issues with businesses and

46:59there are problems, whether it's a

47:01corner store, whether it's a pharmacy,

47:04whether it's a gas station, we go and we

47:07check and make sure that those

47:09businesses are licensed. We make sure

47:10that they are in compliance not only

47:13with city requirements, but we partner

47:15with the Department of Health and Social

47:18Services. We partner with DATE, and we

47:22partner with Denrech.

47:24These are all environmental

47:28issues that affect our neighborhoods.

47:31And I'm looking forward to any questions

47:33that you may have. And I'm here. Thank

47:36you.

47:42>> Thank you, Commissioner. Now, I'd like

47:44to bring up the executive director of

47:47the Wilmington Housing Authority. Mr.

47:49Ray Fitzgerald leads the Wilmington

47:51Housing Authority. This partnership is

47:53important

47:55with residents and families need housing

47:58connections and when coordinated

48:00neighborhood support involves Wilmington

48:02Housing Authority communities. Please

48:04welcome Executive Director Mr. Ray

48:06Fitzgerald.

48:13Good afternoon. Thanks everybody for

48:15being here to support this uh effort to

48:17make some positive changes in the

48:19community. Uh I'm here to talk about the

48:22supports that uh my agency can offer in

48:25terms of providing housing, housing

48:27support, workforce development andu and

48:30community revitalization.

48:32Um you can't have a strong stable

48:34community without without having strong

48:37housing support system in place and

48:39that's our goal at Wilmington Housing

48:41Authority. So, uh, most people know

48:43that, you know, um, well, let me say

48:45this. Before I, uh, became the executive

48:47director of Wilmington Housing

48:49Authority, I was the director of social

48:51services for the state of Delaware. So,

48:54I ran the state's welfare programs and I

48:56had access to resources that um, one we

48:59did what hasn't been done in social

49:02services and we put a lot of those

49:04resources in the community to help build

49:06up community organizations and things

49:08like that. So, one of the biggest uh you

49:11know, we were very creative and one of

49:13the biggest um recipients of those

49:17dollars was the city of Wilmington and

49:18programs, community programs in the city

49:21of Wilmington. I mention that because I

49:23have the same mindset uh in my role at

49:26the Wilmington Housing Authority. you

49:29know, Wilmington Housing Authority uh

49:31manages over 2,000 um public housing

49:35units and over 2,000 section 8 units. Um

49:40we also um activated a nonprofit and our

49:43nonprofit has raised millions of dollars

49:47over the last three or four years and

49:49projects that uh did things like um

49:53neighborhood revitalization projects. We

49:55had a lot of long-term vacant units,

49:57some vacant more than 30 years, and we

50:00used our resources to get rid of those

50:02vacant units.

50:05Let me finish. Let me finish again. Yes,

50:07sir. Um, we also uh have a home

50:10ownership program since 200 uh 9. We've

50:14helped 145 uh d Wilmingtonians uh buy

50:18houses, and not one foreclosure has

50:21resulted from that support.

50:26Well, we are these the reason I'm

50:29mentioning these programs is because we

50:32we create programs that support the

50:35community. So, when we have these uh

50:38construction projects, we make sure that

50:40our contractors hire people from the

50:42community. We have a lead program. We

50:44got a $5 million grant from the federal

50:46government to renovate our long-term our

50:49uh get lead out of our units. Instead of

50:52just giving it to contractors and

50:53letting them do it, we created a lead

50:55training program where we certified the

50:58participants and lead got them lead

51:00certified and then they we we made our

51:03contractors hire those people. The

51:06reason that I'm mentioning these things

51:08is not to highlight what we're doing, to

51:12highlight the creativity that we're

51:14bringing to the table to help provide

51:17economic development and neighborhood

51:18stabilization to some of the properties

51:21that have been long neglected for a long

51:24term time in the community. So, uh,

51:28these programs are are going to be an

51:29option, uh, as we go forward and, um,

51:33the people in the communities that we're

51:35serving will have an opportunity to take

51:37advantage of these programs as they have

51:40at present.

51:42So, I I'll be available to answer any

51:44questions when that period arises, but

51:46uh, thank you for your time.

51:51>> Thank you, director. Uh we have one more

51:54uh uh speaker as well like to introduce

51:57our director of parks and wreck Dr.

51:59Melody Phillips.

52:04So I'm usually the person they bring up

52:06here for energy, right? And because you

52:09can't be lazy or not have good energy

52:12when you're talking about saving the

52:13lives of young people, can you? And so

52:15it's my job and the responsibility of my

52:17team to make sure that all of the youth

52:20in the age ranges of 5 to 17 as well as

52:22seniors have activities that they can

52:24do. And so we hired 245 youth this past

52:28summer. We have the next level emerging

52:31program. We have our next level program.

52:33And let me tell you a little bit about

52:34our youth career development program.

52:36Youth can be hired as young as 14 years

52:39old. They're in our workforce track 14

52:40to 15. Next level emerging is preparing

52:43them for a career pathway connected back

52:46to their high school pathway. So we're

52:49partnering with the schools that's 16 to

52:5117. Then we have next level 17 to 24.

52:55They are the youth who are planning out

52:57our youth summit each year and then

52:59providing workforce development training

53:02to their peers. I am a core believer in

53:05youth leadership. William Hicks Anderson

53:07Community Center is in the heart of

53:09everything that parks and recreation

53:10does. And so if you want to make sure

53:12that your young person is involved in

53:14activities, that they have a slew of

53:16things outside, parks and recreation

53:18stay outside, right? And so it's really

53:20important that you all know that we are

53:22here to support your babies. We are here

53:24to do everything that we possibly can to

53:27make sure that they are safe, that they

53:28are well taken care of. William Hicks

53:30Anderson Community Center has 60 spots

53:32open for its afterchool program and it's

53:35free. They absolutely can come here as

53:37young as 5 years old. Our summer camp

53:39program as well usually holds up to 50

53:42spots. And so I'm just here to let all

53:44of you know that we are here to support

53:45you. We are here to make sure that your

53:47youth and your children are taken care

53:49of because your babies are our babies.

53:51And if there's anything that we can do

53:53to make life just a little bit easier

53:54for parents and guardians, that is what

53:56we're here to do. Thank you.

54:02[applause]

54:03>> Thank you, Dr. Phillips.

54:05Um we are now about to

54:12>> Yes ma'am. We are about to open

54:14[clears throat] public comment. Uh

54:16before we start just like to in respect

54:19of time and all of the voices that need

54:21to be heard. We'd like everyone to keep

54:23in mind uh the area of about five

54:26minutes uh to to say and speak whatever

54:29uh you have on your heart. Really

54:31quickly, I'd like to point out our

54:33constituent services department is

54:35Regita Fields here. Is Tanya Phillips

54:39here? Um any questions that are not able

54:42to be addressed because of the lack of

54:44time, you can see either of these ladies

54:47um at any point after uh the

54:49presentation and we will make sure that

54:51all of your questions and concerns get

54:53directly to our director community

54:56safety. So, we'll now open up the floor

54:58for public comments. We ask each speaker

55:00to state their name. Keep comments

55:03brief, please. Five minutes or so, and

55:06focused on community safety and respect

55:09every person in the room. City staff

55:12will document questions or concerns and

55:15that will require followup.

55:18So, we will go ahead and begin.

55:37test.

55:40So, uh, thank y'all for coming out. My

55:43name is James Taylor. Um,

55:48my question is kind of a two-parter. I'm

55:50going keep it brief.

55:53director, you you asked the question how

55:55a child can look out and see what they

55:59see every day and then think that they

56:02can become something.

56:05Um, I I would hazard a guess and say

56:07that, you know, part of that solution is

56:10is the government showing them that they

56:13care about him. This brother sat here

56:15and said that he hadn't heard from

56:16anybody in almost 90 days regarding his

56:19son

56:20over 90. And so my first question is

56:27>> solid, brother. That's solid. My first

56:30question is um is the government willing

56:34to to to give that that image to the

56:37community by saying this young brother's

56:39name? as we keep talking about this in

56:42the abstract. Uh my the second part of

56:45my question is I've heard everybody talk

56:49about this holistic approach yet. No one

56:51has talked about the issue of the

56:53government itself adding to the death

56:55toll. So where does that come into the

56:58plan and how do the different offices

57:03contribute to that conversation?

57:06Because youth violence isn't just youth

57:08violence when they do it to each other.

57:10Youth violence is is youth violence when

57:13the government kills the youth, too.

57:17So, will you speak this young brother's

57:19name? And what are y'all doing to make

57:22sure that you all aren't a part of the

57:24violence when you're responding to

57:25things that happen in the community?

57:31>> [applause]

57:45>> We have

57:59an answer.

58:49Well,

58:51[sighs]

58:53please please give me a second. Give me

58:56one second.

58:57fears.

58:59>> No,

59:01>> say that. But I wanted to say one thing.

59:05>> This is why people in position

59:08are in position. You got to be the

59:11first.

59:26I wanted to answer the other partition

59:35to speak.

59:38What are we doing?

59:44>> So, so, so y'all just came up here for

59:46this whole

59:50whatever y'all got going on from what

59:54the community is frustrated.

59:57If the head,

59:59the body won't function.

1:00:18>> So I want to answer one part to your

1:00:20question.

1:00:23One of the things that

1:00:26when I accepted a position,

1:00:29I wanted to ensure that everybody that's

1:00:32associated with making sure a kid get

1:00:34the best quality service unites.

1:00:38I wasn't going to accept a position just

1:00:41like for group violence intervention

1:00:43unless the entire cabinet council

1:00:46got together to ensure that when kids

1:00:50are saying that they want to make a

1:00:51change

1:00:53and their FICO scores was 400 or 500 or

1:00:56600 which prevented them to get into

1:00:58safe housing that I was going to be

1:01:00connected with someone from a CRA from a

1:01:03bank from the housing authority to

1:01:04ensure that they receive 24-month

1:01:06vouchers.

1:01:07I wanted to ensure that if they were

1:01:09unable to have the appropriate education

1:01:13because of the credit remediation of the

1:01:15past, I wanted to ensure that the

1:01:16education part was a part of that. I

1:01:18also wanted to ensure that there was a

1:01:21way for them to make better decisions

1:01:22that everybody unified. That's all that

1:01:24I just wanted to say that if I accepted

1:01:26this position and one part to which

1:01:28you're saying, I wanted to ensure that

1:01:30everyone came together for a holistic

1:01:32approach to make things better.

1:01:44So I I am not well first of all I am uh

1:01:49Trippy Congo, president of Wington City

1:01:52Council. I am not answering for the

1:01:55administration. Council is separate from

1:01:57the administration.

1:01:59But I do think that something has to be

1:02:01acknowledged.

1:02:03Does anybody here have a girlfriend?

1:02:08Anybody have a have a boyfriend? Anybody

1:02:10have a a husband or a wife? And I'm I'm

1:02:13getting somewhere, so just be patient

1:02:15with me.

1:02:16Have you ever had a conflict with your

1:02:20boyfriend or with your girlfriend or

1:02:22with your husband or with your wife?

1:02:25And when you have that conflict,

1:02:28has that other person ever tried to

1:02:32skip around talking about the the

1:02:34conflict and move on to something else?

1:02:37You know, that is very difficult to do.

1:02:40That is very difficult. So you find you

1:02:43find yourselves in that relationship

1:02:46and you're not able to move past it

1:02:49because something hasn't been

1:02:51acknowledged

1:02:54a at some point our government and I'm

1:02:58going to say our government because I am

1:02:59a part of the government we have to

1:03:01acknowledge

1:03:02the frustration and the anger and the

1:03:05disappointment

1:03:09that our community ass and and this

1:03:13uptick in violence is in no way the

1:03:17police department's fault. So, I'm not

1:03:19laying the blame there. But it is going

1:03:21to be very hard for the police

1:03:23department, for the mayor, for the

1:03:26administration, for city government to

1:03:28come and say, "Hey, we want to talk to

1:03:30you about something when we haven't

1:03:32talked to you about the bigger

1:03:34something."

1:03:37And until we're able to have that

1:03:39conversation,

1:03:41until we're able to talk about even the

1:03:43attorney general's role

1:03:46in that police shooting and how she has

1:03:50not

1:03:52come forward and said something

1:03:56and how she has made it, in my opinion,

1:03:58extremely political.

1:04:01It is very frustrating to be associated

1:04:03with

1:04:05Wington's local government when I know

1:04:07how frustrated and angry you are and for

1:04:11us just not to acknowledge it like for I

1:04:15don't know if you and John even know

1:04:17each other but for John just to come up

1:04:20to you and give you a hug and and that's

1:04:23all he needs. like this man just wants

1:04:25to be acknowledged

1:04:27and our community

1:04:29our our our our community our community

1:04:33needs to be acknowledged. So, I don't

1:04:35know if we can't read the room if we

1:04:37don't know the audience, but this

1:04:39audience needs to be acknowledged.

1:04:44>> And I don't know how we get past. I

1:04:47don't know how we get to B, C, D, and F.

1:04:51D, E, and F if we don't talk about A.

1:04:54And we're not saying talk about it.

1:04:58We're not saying talk about the details.

1:05:00We're not saying that. We're saying it

1:05:01has to be acknowledged and it has to be

1:05:06I don't I don't know. I we don't get it

1:05:09like for for for that for him to ask

1:05:11that question and nobody said anything

1:05:17[cheering]

1:05:28to me.

1:05:39I

1:05:41I hear the question

1:05:44and I acknowledge the pain

1:05:47and you all know as well as I do

1:05:52that this is a matter under

1:05:54investigation

1:05:56about which

1:05:59I'm not able to comment.

1:06:02Does my heart hurt for your loss?

1:06:07Absolutely.

1:06:09Do I recognize

1:06:11that we have to find a way to work

1:06:13through this? That at some point there's

1:06:14going to be a decision by the attorney

1:06:17general.

1:06:18>> Absolutely.

1:06:21I heard the council president say a

1:06:22little little while ago

1:06:25that we all ought to be think long and

1:06:28hard about coming together after that

1:06:31decision is made because ultimately

1:06:34there's going to be a decision. I don't

1:06:36know what it's going to be.

1:06:38Uh but uh I know that we need to rise

1:06:41above to make sure that doesn't tear our

1:06:43city apart. And that's what I'm going to

1:06:46try to do as your mayor.

1:07:05Good evening. My name is Jerry Cherry.

1:07:10And

1:07:13good evening. My name is Jerry Cherry.

1:07:17I'm a long-term resident of Wilmington.

1:07:20I lived right here in the bucket for

1:07:22many years. I worked for the Wilmington

1:07:25Police Department for a few years. I

1:07:28worked for the city of Wilmington for 30

1:07:30years.

1:07:33After retirement, I left. I moved south

1:07:36and my grandkids begged me to come home.

1:07:41Why?

1:07:43Because they were afraid to go anywhere.

1:07:45Nobody could take them anywhere. I was a

1:07:48retired grandmother with a Cadillac. I I

1:07:51could drive them around. My daughter was

1:07:53working. Their father wasn't available.

1:07:56And they had nothing to do. No place to

1:07:59go, no activities.

1:08:02And when I came back, I started a

1:08:05YouTube channel. Start a YouTube channel

1:08:08for old people like myself. However, my

1:08:11grandkids got involved because there was

1:08:14nothing else to do. Recently, this

1:08:17summer, they did come to Hicks Anderson

1:08:20for camp. It was a wonderful experience.

1:08:23I had a few bumps in the road, but I

1:08:26addressed that cuz I am vocal and I'm

1:08:29not about playing. I didn't live too

1:08:32long.

1:08:34I'm going to tell you the skinny.

1:08:37When Wilmington police come out, they do

1:08:41not give us the respect that we are due.

1:08:46They come out

1:08:48angry. They come out in our communities

1:08:51with their hand on a gun. THEY DON'T

1:08:54COME OUT WITH their hand extended

1:08:58>> as friends.

1:09:00And we are tired of it.

1:09:03We are a community

1:09:06>> and if you come to my door and you got

1:09:09your hand on your gun,

1:09:12>> you're not going to get anything good

1:09:14from me.

1:09:16>> So, it's how you approach us.

1:09:20>> I want to tell you

1:09:22>> that I've seen what we call the blue

1:09:26wave. Ain't that what we call it, my

1:09:28friend? where they come out and they act

1:09:31like, and I'm talking about the blue,

1:09:33the people who are wearing them blue

1:09:35suits, they act like they going to help

1:09:39us, but they're not. And you know why?

1:09:42Because they got their hands slapped by

1:09:45the ACLU

1:09:47with a lawsuit.

1:09:49>> But I'm here to tell you that it was

1:09:52dismissed.

1:09:55>> Yeah. The ACLU brought the lawsuit for

1:09:59illegal search and stop and frisk and

1:10:01all that. Well, here's what happens when

1:10:05you slap me on my hand and tell me I've

1:10:08done something wrong. Guess what I'm

1:10:11going to do? Squat. I ain't going to do

1:10:13nothing. SO, WE CALL the police to come

1:10:16out and I watched it and I had

1:10:19videotape. I called the officers to come

1:10:22out to a disturbance across the street

1:10:24from my house. They came out. The young

1:10:28lady cussed, kicked, screamed, and they

1:10:31threatened to lock her up, but they

1:10:34didn't. And you know why? Cuz they were

1:10:36hiding behind the fact that they had a

1:10:39lawsuit. The ACLU

1:10:42said they couldn't stop. They couldn't

1:10:45question. They could That's bull.

1:10:49And now it's been dismissed. You don't

1:10:53believe me? Go check.

1:10:56They have dismissed it. So now what's

1:10:58your excuse? You come in our

1:11:00communities, COME AND DO YOUR JOB. DON'T

1:11:04come out there acting like you scared.

1:11:07>> My sister was in the park at Second

1:11:10Street when the shooting happened. I had

1:11:13it on videotape, but it got removed.

1:11:18The cops were there when the shooting

1:11:21started. You understand? They were there

1:11:24and they DID NOTHING. [screaming]

1:11:27>> MY sister was there. Anybody know LL?

1:11:31You know she's the truth.

1:11:33So I'm telling you, you got to have a

1:11:36different attitude.

1:11:38>> YOU WITH US,

1:11:40>> be with us. Don't stand on the other

1:11:43side of the street looking AT US.

1:11:46PUT YOUR HAND out as a gesture that we

1:11:51CAN WORK THIS TOGETHER. OTHERWISE, it's

1:11:54going to be us against you. [sighs]

1:11:57>> And that's all I got to say about you.

1:11:59Want to check me out? You find me on

1:12:02YouTube. What nobody told me after 65.

1:12:04I'm 69 years old and I've been in a

1:12:07fight a long TIME AND I'M TIRED OF

1:12:10FIGHTING. SOME OF YOU YOUNG PEOPLE,

1:12:12BESIDES PICKING UP GUNS, PICK UP A BOOK,

1:12:16>> PICK UP THE DOG ON uh uh uh newspaper,

1:12:20pick up something that's going to

1:12:21educate you because we getting old. We

1:12:25can't keep doing it. But I'm here

1:12:27tonight to tell you I'm for it. I'm for

1:12:30the shenanigans. Bring it.

1:12:41retailers in the back.

1:12:44Ain't nobody

1:12:49ridiculous, man.

1:13:05>> Oh, it's a mic. Okay. Am

1:13:09I on?

1:13:11>> Not yet.

1:13:13>> Just give me the sign when when to start

1:13:15talking.

1:13:17My name is Brother Dwight L. Davis, West

1:13:21Center City. What I want to say is I

1:13:25want to first of all thank the Center

1:13:27for Structural Equity for making me a

1:13:30part of the team.

1:13:31We've gotten up in age and they think

1:13:34because we done got older, we done. I

1:13:37come this evening to talk about a plan.

1:13:41Just like you got the flock cameras

1:13:44falling behind people's cars, we coming

1:13:47with AI technology, artificial

1:13:49intelligence. We're going to bring AI

1:13:52into West Center City in order to bring

1:13:56all this plan together. On Monday, we

1:14:00meeting with Verizon. We filed a

1:14:02complaint with the Federal Communication

1:14:05Commission. For all these years, we've

1:14:08been putting in the work in our brand.

1:14:11So now we want to talk about a data

1:14:14center, a artificial entity data center

1:14:18training for the young as well as the

1:14:20old. Now they got they got glasses for

1:14:24people like me that's visually impaired.

1:14:27that you you could just tell them to to

1:14:30to read something and to get the

1:14:31reading. So, what I want to say is

1:14:34welcome to West Center City Community

1:14:36Center cuz we built this center. We

1:14:39built this center and not only did we

1:14:42build this center, we built the Wickpack

1:14:45properties just across the street that

1:14:47you don't want to help us to fix them up

1:14:49so we can have affordable housing.

1:14:53NOT ONLY THAT, YOU THOUGHT BECAUSE YOU

1:14:55TORE DOWN the model city's motivational

1:14:57center, 800 West 9th Street, YOU THOUGHT

1:15:00YOU GOT RID OF ME. NO, you didn't get

1:15:03rid of me. Now I'm at the safe house.

1:15:05And now I done went now I'm in the safe

1:15:08house and I'm talking on AI, artificial

1:15:11intelligence. So what I'm saying to all

1:15:14you, stop complaining.

1:15:16>> We got to come together. And the way

1:15:19that we come together is to take this

1:15:21center and turn it into a AI artificial

1:15:25intelligence data computer training

1:15:28center so that we can develop the crime

1:15:32out of our community. And I thank you

1:15:34very very much and you have a blessed

1:15:36day.

1:15:43>> Hello everyone. My name is Ina. Um, I'm

1:15:47I'm for I'm all for community

1:15:49collaboration. Um, one of my questions

1:15:52for you guys today is and I hope

1:15:54somebody is taking notes because

1:15:57everybody have to understand the

1:15:59community helps the community just as

1:16:02well as the community showed up for you

1:16:04guys today. Y'all have to show up for

1:16:07them. It's a lot of people out there

1:16:10that literally want to create solutions,

1:16:13but you guys have to show up when it's

1:16:15needed. So, my question to you today is,

1:16:19are you guys open for your officers

1:16:23being trained with some of the community

1:16:26members together cuz that's the only way

1:16:30it's going to be heard in real time. So,

1:16:33please think about that. Training is

1:16:35very very important and it's a lot of

1:16:38stuff that need to be updated. It's a

1:16:40lot of officers that need to be trained

1:16:43but some officers need to be trained

1:16:45with the community members so the

1:16:48community members will know that they

1:16:51have a voice.

1:16:56>> All right. So, I know there are a lot of

1:16:59questions um and so I want to bring a

1:17:01little bit of order so I'm not mis

1:17:03mistaking anybody. So, please I'm going

1:17:06to change the program a little bit. All

1:17:08right. And I apologize for those of you

1:17:10who uh have has your hand up. If you can

1:17:13meet in a line so that we can get to

1:17:15your questions and I am not accidentally

1:17:18skipping over anyone that will be great.

1:17:21So, meet me up here if you have a

1:17:22question please.

1:17:27right here.

1:17:31>> Single file. Single file line, please.

1:17:38>> Single file line, please.

1:17:50I can see.

1:18:00>> All right. We want to make sure everyone

1:18:02gets the respect they were giving you.

1:18:04So, please make sure we can hear

1:18:07everybody. What I'm going to do, because

1:18:10after we leave here, we're all here

1:18:12talking about how much our youth matter.

1:18:14After we leave, this gym opens up for

1:18:16our youth to participate in their open

1:18:18gym safe haven activities. And so, we

1:18:21have to be out of here by 7:00. Because

1:18:23of that, I'm going to put a time of 2

1:18:25minutes per comment and question. Two

1:18:28minutes timeless. What's up, man? What's

1:18:32up? I'm going put a time of two minutes

1:18:34per question. If we don't get to your

1:18:37question,

1:18:38I hear a lot of talking.

1:18:41I hear a lot of talking.

1:18:43We're trying to be respectful here. If

1:18:46we don't get to your question, we've

1:18:48identified the constituent services

1:18:50team. We have Tanya Phillips over here.

1:18:53Tanya, please stand.

1:18:56And we have Brigita Fields. We also have

1:18:59Jacqueline Costinata up there. See them

1:19:03after this, but we want to get through

1:19:04the questions so we can get make sure

1:19:06our youth are here to play their

1:19:07recreation. All right.

1:19:10>> Awesome.

1:19:10>> Okay. Two minutes per question, ma'am.

1:19:14Hello. Thank you everyone for coming out

1:19:16tonight. My name is Kelly.

1:19:20>> Hold on everyone.

1:19:22We're talking about community. Let's

1:19:24respect our neighbors.

1:19:27All right.

1:19:30Make sure you hold it back.

1:19:32>> Thank you for coming out tonight. My

1:19:34name is Kelly Russell. I am the founder

1:19:35of First State Youth, which is a

1:19:37nonprofit uh youth group in Wilmington,

1:19:40Delaware. We are actionbased.

1:19:43We are in the community. We're providing

1:19:45resources daily for our young people.

1:19:48Our young people are not feeling heard.

1:19:50The our our original plan was to give

1:19:53them entrepreneurship uh skills. We're

1:19:56based out of uh the second chance shop

1:19:58on Lee Boulevard where youth come in

1:20:00almost daily asking for jobs. These kids

1:20:03do not feel heard. They're not in here

1:20:05tonight to speak on their behalf. I just

1:20:08want to know what we're doing for dropin

1:20:11services. All the resources that we are

1:20:14claiming to have available. How do they

1:20:16access those resources? How do they find

1:20:18out? If the parents don't even know

1:20:20where to get resources for their kids,

1:20:22the kids can't get them. A lot of

1:20:24schools don't know about the resources.

1:20:26I don't know. I I have had a lot of

1:20:28meetings with a few of the officials to

1:20:31get try to get or some type of registry.

1:20:35So all the nonprofit work that we are

1:20:37doing can be accessed to people. There's

1:20:41a lot of us doing good work in the

1:20:43community. It's just hard to get a

1:20:45directory of everything everyone has

1:20:48going on. Um I talk to the police all

1:20:51officers a lot. They don't have anywhere

1:20:54to take kids when they're having

1:20:56disagreements at home or they're just

1:20:58out in the streets for whatever the

1:21:00conflict is. The police themselves are

1:21:02saying they don't have anywhere to take

1:21:05kids for a cooling off period. I'm

1:21:08providing resources for Boys and Girls

1:21:10Club. I'm providing hydration. I'm

1:21:13providing whatever I can for community

1:21:16centers that I think are in need. We

1:21:17have a lot of big buildings here in

1:21:19Wilmington. We have a lot of big

1:21:22buildings, but we don't have active

1:21:24programs in these buildings. And if we

1:21:27do, I would love to know about them.

1:21:29Please reach out to me at First State

1:21:31Youth to let me know so I can let the

1:21:34young people know there are resources

1:21:36available because we're saying that

1:21:38there are resources but we can't find

1:21:40them. We can't find them. They're not

1:21:42published. They're not there's not an

1:21:44open database to where people know where

1:21:46to go. So, thank you for your time.

1:21:48First state youth, if you guys need any

1:21:51resources that I have available, I'm

1:21:53there. I just want to know where the

1:21:54resources is.

1:21:55>> I hear the idea. Publish a directory.

1:21:57We'll do that. There are plenty of uh

1:21:59activity centers. One right here, POW on

1:22:02the north side, all over.

1:22:06>> All right. Um if you can go see Tanya

1:22:08Phillips over there, she'll direct you.

1:22:09Miss Genie.

1:22:11>> Um I don't have a So I do have a few

1:22:14questions because I want to take

1:22:15advantage of having certain people here.

1:22:17I more or less want to make kind of a

1:22:19statement more so than a question. Hello

1:22:20everyone. My name is Gina Watson and

1:22:23I'll wait till I get the silence that I

1:22:25need to feel respected.

1:22:36My name is Gina Watson. I moved here to

1:22:38Wilmington in 2007 seven via Gardenzia

1:22:44program Kindred House. I had 15 years on

1:22:46the street on crack, 10 babies, 10 baby

1:22:49daddies. I'm 62 years now. I moved here.

1:22:52My first stop was Mary Mother of Hope.

1:22:54Then I went to the Salvation Army. got a

1:22:57job at Downtown Visions and the rest is

1:22:59history. Many of you know me from

1:23:01Riverside. They used to call me the

1:23:03mayor of Riverside. But I must say when

1:23:06you talk about a holistic approach when

1:23:08I first moved here, all that you see

1:23:10down in Riverside, Kingswood Community

1:23:12Center, Logan Hair and Aaron Bass was

1:23:15just in people's head. It wasn't even on

1:23:17paper yet. I think I came in probably

1:23:20about 10 years after you guys had

1:23:23started on that. So, I'm talking about

1:23:25two generations,

1:23:27and I'm still waiting for some respect

1:23:29that I I feel as though I need.

1:23:39And I say that to say I'm 62 now, just

1:23:43retired. I'm still trying to figure it

1:23:44out. You never get this, you guys, until

1:23:46the day you die. It's a journey. But you

1:23:50can't expect something that took us 400

1:23:52years to get to to vanish overnight.

1:23:55Okay? It's going to take generations to

1:23:57get back. My people were from the

1:23:59backwoods in Mon Georgia. So, we real

1:24:01simple folk. Y'all done made this

1:24:02too complicated. Excuse my French. But

1:24:05it starts at home. My father built

1:24:07houses from the ground up. And the first

1:24:10lesson is the foundation. If you don't

1:24:12have a strong foundation, it's downhill

1:24:15from there. when I first moved here. So,

1:24:17I say that to say when we talk about the

1:24:19gun violence, where's your child

1:24:21tonight? When's the last time you sat

1:24:23down and broke bread with your family as

1:24:24a family unit? So, the problem is not

1:24:27the system. The system is designed to do

1:24:29exactly what it's doing. The problem is

1:24:32us not knowing our value, not knowing

1:24:34who we are as a people. And what I would

1:24:36like to ask, it was Kristen on the end.

1:24:39I spoke to an officer the other day. I

1:24:41live on Seventh and West. and what I

1:24:44found out from speaking.

1:24:52>> All right, we're cutting into people's

1:24:53time. Um, but Miss Genie, you can please

1:24:55feel free to talk to him. Corey, if you

1:24:58can, or Councilwoman Willau, two

1:25:01minutes.

1:25:04>> Hello everyone. Good evening. I'm going

1:25:07to SAY THIS UNTIL JESUS COMES. WE'RE

1:25:10TALKING ABOUT THE GUN VIOLENCE IN THE

1:25:11CITY OF WILMINGTON. I RESPECTED MAYOR

1:25:15JAMES THIELS BECAUSE UNDER MAYOR JAMES

1:25:17TIELS, WE HAD OUTREACH WORKERS that went

1:25:19into the community and we went in every

1:25:22side of town, north side, west side,

1:25:25east side, AND SOUTH SIDE. WE ENGAGE

1:25:27WITH THE YOUTH. WE ENGAGE WITH THE YOUTH

1:25:29in the community. I respect Dr. Melanie

1:25:33Phillips for what she's doing with parks

1:25:35AND WRECK. WE CANNOT HELP THE CHILDREN

1:25:38AND WE DO NOT HAVE ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR

1:25:41PROGRAMS to go IN OUTREACH. THERE'S TOO

1:25:44MANY PEOPLE GET MONEY AND NOT DOING

1:25:46NOTHING.

1:25:48NOT DOING NOTHING. IF YOU'RE AFRAID TO

1:25:51GO OUT THERE IN THE STREETS, DON'T GO.

1:25:53THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE WILLING TO GO

1:25:55OUT AND ENGAGE WITH THESE CHILDREN. WE

1:25:57need funding. Trippy, YOU SAID WE HAD a

1:26:00whole LOT OF MONEY. LET'S PUT IT TO USE.

1:26:02Get some outreach workers and hit the

1:26:04street. [clears throat]

1:26:06Thank you, ma'am.

1:26:07>> Thank you.

1:26:20>> My name is Baba Baba Hamin.

1:26:23I'm a newbie to Garvey City. Y'all call

1:26:26it Wilmington.

1:26:27>> Could you lower your voices in the back,

1:26:29please? Thank you. Please.

1:26:30>> Excuse me. Those in the back, we you're

1:26:33disturbing everything that's going on.

1:26:36All right. Again,

1:26:39I'm not I wasn't born and raised here in

1:26:41Wilmington. I came here after, you know,

1:26:44the World Trade Center and all that got

1:26:46away from violence. And I thought

1:26:49Delaware were a nice nice place where

1:26:52people were friendly and

1:26:55respectable.

1:26:57I found out that's not true.

1:27:00Number one, I appreciate personally I

1:27:04appreciate what y'all doing today trying

1:27:06to let everybody in the community know

1:27:08what you're supposed to be doing. The

1:27:10major issue, the major issue we have

1:27:14right now that brought us to the table,

1:27:17I thought was resolved

1:27:20when Bam Bam got murdered.

1:27:24When Bam Bam was murdered and sitting in

1:27:26a wheelchair and and we had to go

1:27:29through all kinds of changes to to get

1:27:33justice, we thought that was over.

1:27:36Reason why people are angry and

1:27:38upsetting here right now, it's not over.

1:27:42You know why it's not over? Proof of not

1:27:44over because what happened to Bam Bam

1:27:47happened to the little brother Kadir

1:27:51murdered by a police officer. We thought

1:27:54that wasn't going to happen again. So,

1:27:57obviously, it's it's within the police

1:28:00department. Now, I know the police

1:28:02department is trying to do the best they

1:28:04can, but since I've been in in Delaware,

1:28:09I've had several encounters with police

1:28:12officers, but the only one y'all don't

1:28:14want to say this, you don't want to hear

1:28:16it, but it's the truth.

1:28:18No, my time is not up, sir. Or I'll talk

1:28:20without a mic. So every white police

1:28:24officer I that's not true here

1:28:42because it starts in elementary school.

1:28:46It starts when our young boys are not

1:28:49reading at the right level.

1:28:52In second grade, teachers young

1:28:58man each year as they go up to school,

1:29:03they get

1:29:05more turn

1:29:0814 or 15.

1:29:16Y'all are ignoring that issue.

1:29:22Mic check. Mic check.

1:29:25>> Y.

1:29:29>> Mic check.

1:29:32We got to ground ourselves, man. We got

1:29:34to ground ourselves, man.

1:29:40Let's bring it back in. What's up with

1:29:43Mike? What's up my mic?

1:29:49Mic check.

1:29:52>> I got it.

1:29:54>> Mic check.

1:30:08>> Mic check.

1:30:11There you go.

1:30:18Hey, listen up, man. Listen up. Y'all

1:30:21know who I am in this city.

1:30:25Hey yo, in the back.

1:30:27I got it. I ain't even two minutes with

1:30:29it. So, we going to GET RIGHT INTO IT.

1:30:31LISTEN up

1:30:33in the back.

1:30:37Hey yo. HEY YO, GIVE ME SOME RESPECT.

1:30:39LISTEN UP IN THE BACK. LET'S MAKE THIS

1:30:41CLEAR. LET ME SHOW Y'ALL A MIRROR RIGHT

1:30:43QUICK. LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT A MIRROR

1:30:44LOOK LIKE. Let me show you what a mirror

1:30:47look like. Let me show you what a mirror

1:30:49look like.

1:30:51LET IT BE KNOWN. PUT THIS ON RECORD. PUT

1:30:54THIS ON RECORD REAL QUICK. DID A NONE OF

1:30:56THESE PEOPLE ON THIS PANEL DOING THE

1:30:59SHOOTING. PUT THAT ON RECORD. PUT THAT

1:31:02ON RECORD. THESE PEOPLE WORK DOWNTOWN.

1:31:04THEY'RE NOT THE ONES DOING THE SHOOTING.

1:31:06LET'S LOOK IN THE MIRROR REAL QUICK.

1:31:09IT'S OUR BABIES THAT'S OUT THERE GOING

1:31:12HAM.

1:31:14>> SO, AS PARENTS,

1:31:16WE GOT TO GET IN FRONT OF IT. NOW,

1:31:18HERE'S MY SOLUTION. PUT THIS ON RECORD

1:31:20REAL QUICK. NONE OF THESE PEOPLE ON THIS

1:31:23PANEL ARE DOING THE SHOOTING. WE'RE

1:31:26GOING TO SWITCH THE FOCUS BACK WHERE IT

1:31:28BELONGS. IT STARTS IN THE HOME, THEN IT

1:31:32GOES TO THE SCHOOL, THEN THE STREETS. AS

1:31:35PARENTS, WE GOT TO GET A FIRMER GRIP.

1:31:37NOW, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IF YOU ARE A

1:31:40PARENT, IF YOU ARE A PARENT THAT'S

1:31:42STRUGGLING AND NEED RESOURCES, NOW WOULD

1:31:45BE THE TIME TO SPEAK UP ABOUT THAT. BUT

1:31:47HERE'S MY SOLUTION. I'm at solution. 30

1:31:51SECONDS. I'M AT SOLUTION.

1:31:54The people WHO ARE IN ATTENDANCE. I'M

1:31:58GOING TO BE G-CHECKING some y'all on the

1:31:59WAY OUT THE DOOR. I KNOW WHO TALKING

1:32:01WHILE I'M TALKING.

1:32:03THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE PASSION TO DO

1:32:06THE WORK, I'M AT SOLUTIONS. THE PEOPLE

1:32:10WHO HAVE THE PASSION to do the work NEED

1:32:13TO GET HOOKED UP WITH THE RESOURCES. And

1:32:16that MEANS IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE

1:32:18STRUCTURE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR

1:32:20NONPROFIT, IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR

1:32:21BUSINESS, THOSE ARE THE BARRIERS INTO

1:32:24DOING THE WORK. AND THANK YOU. AND I'M

1:32:26THOMAS AND Y'ALL KNOW WHO I AM. AND MY

1:32:29BOOK IS FOR SALE. Anyone

1:32:57hear me? Good. Did y'all hear me?

1:33:07Testing, testing,

1:33:13>> testing, testing.

1:33:15>> Hey, hold on. Let me reset the time.

1:33:21>> Okay, can y'all hear me good? Y'all can

1:33:23hear me now. Everybody up here on the

1:33:24panel, can you hear me? Can you get him?

1:33:27the man with his head down. Can you tap

1:33:29him on the shoulder?

1:33:33All right. I appreciate y'all for coming

1:33:35out here tonight. I represent um

1:33:38concerned Wilmington residents and a lot

1:33:40of the statements I'm about to make and

1:33:41the questions that I'm going to ask

1:33:42y'all are echoed by them. Like we got a

1:33:45dozen, we got a couple dozen and a host

1:33:48of other individuals that really feel

1:33:49what I'm about to say and the questions

1:33:51I'm asking. So, uh, Mayor Carney and,

1:33:54uh, Chief,

1:33:56are the Wington Police Department and

1:33:58other elected individuals going to be

1:33:59held accountable for their negligence

1:34:01for the criminal wrongdoing and the

1:34:03malfeascence that has been exhibited

1:34:05within the past year? I'm talking about

1:34:07individuals from Chenade Darby and her

1:34:08transitional housing. I'm talking about

1:34:11um, Wilington police officers who are

1:34:13harassing Wington residents, who are uh,

1:34:16shooting Wilton residents. Uh, are we

1:34:18going to hold any of them people

1:34:19accountable? I would like to use my two

1:34:21minutes to get a response real quick.

1:34:24Y'all too,

1:34:25>> there is a

1:34:26>> can't hear you.

1:34:27>> There's a process in place. We need to

1:34:28follow complaint and follow up and hope

1:34:31and investigate.

1:34:32>> I appreciate that quick response. So,

1:34:33I'd like to say real quick to that. I

1:34:35have gotten no help, no support, no

1:34:38answers. When I say negligence within

1:34:40the highest form, I'm saying I've

1:34:42reached out to a lot of y'all. I know

1:34:44I'm pretty sure y'all know me. I've

1:34:46attended your your programs uh for

1:34:48recetivism reduction.

1:34:52I'm I've been out on bail too many times

1:34:53this year for interactions with a lot of

1:34:55these people. And so I'm I'm I'm

1:34:57serious. Like it's not working. You say

1:34:59that they're being held accountable and

1:35:00there's a system in place, but it's not

1:35:02working. And like the city, we the

1:35:05people behind me, we want to know what

1:35:07y'all are actively doing because you

1:35:09hold us accountable in this city when we

1:35:11do something criminal.

1:35:14Can we do the same to y'all? Will you be

1:35:16starting up a uh research group? Will

1:35:19you be starting up a independent uh uh

1:35:23uh uh

1:35:26to your question, Police Accountability

1:35:27Board, they meet monthly. I make sure

1:35:29you get

1:35:30the Cook.

1:35:32>> All right, sir.

1:35:34>> Mr. Dunn, two minutes, sir.

1:35:38>> My name is Tony Dunn. I first want to

1:35:41publicly say to this brother here, I'm

1:35:45sorry, brother, for what me and my

1:35:48family and your family had to go through

1:35:50in our community BECAUSE WE HAVE

1:35:53PROBLEMS with mental health.

1:35:56MENTAL HEALTH IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, MR.

1:35:58MAYOR.

1:36:00Very serious. I came to you. I did A

1:36:03STRATEGIC PROPOSAL. YOU NEVER ANSWERED

1:36:06ME. I think only one person on your on

1:36:09your committee answered.

1:36:12I want to know what are you going to do

1:36:13now THAT Y'ALL MADE A DECISION WITH THE

1:36:17PLUMBER CENTER THAT WAS A VITAL PIECE OF

1:36:20OF property that we needed in our

1:36:23community. I TALKED TO SOMEBODY IN YOUR

1:36:26OFFICE AND THEY SAID THAT THERE'S $80

1:36:28MILLION for lowincome housing.

1:36:32Well, the plumber center could be used

1:36:35for a resource, a hub for all THE

1:36:39PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE. HOMELESSNESS,

1:36:43VIOLENCE,

1:36:44mental health,

1:36:46all of that we we have in our community,

1:36:49but can't use it because the building

1:36:51has been given to Wilmington Housing

1:36:53Authorities. We need to know what's

1:36:55going on BECAUSE Y'ALL WANT TO HOLD US

1:36:58ACCOUNTABLE, BUT Y'ALL GOT TO BE

1:37:00ACCOUNTABLE, TOO.

1:37:03I CAME TO YOUR OFFICE. I DID A COMPLAINT

1:37:05WITH YOUR OFFICE.

1:37:07Nothing happened. Nothing happened. I'M

1:37:10STILL MISSING ANOTHER SON behind the

1:37:13violence.

1:37:15WE AIN'T GOING TO TAKE OUR POSITION. WE

1:37:17GOING TO DO WHAT WE SUPPOSED TO DO AS

1:37:18MEN.

1:37:20BUT WE NEED Y'ALL TO BE ACCOUNTABLE AS

1:37:22WELL.

1:37:23GIVE US THE RESOURCES WE NEED. THAT'S

1:37:26THE PROBLEM. THE RESOURCES YOU SEE AND

1:37:29YOU GIVING US, THEY'RE NOT REACHING POOR

1:37:31people and we still having THE SAME

1:37:33PROBLEM. HELP US. HELP YOU help us.

1:37:42>> I'm a longterm Delawarian. That's all I

1:37:45say. But I have two questions. One for

1:37:48Wington Housing Authority. I would like

1:37:51to know how long is the normal waiting

1:37:54period time. Um, as long as you updating

1:37:58your information and everything. Um, cuz

1:38:02I've been on there for about eight years

1:38:05now and I've been updating my

1:38:06application,

1:38:08keeping the job, doing what I'm supposed

1:38:10to do when I I don't hear anything.

1:38:12There is no

1:38:16>> there is no normal time is there's lots

1:38:19of factors that are is this one

1:38:22>> oh yeah let's go there's lots of factors

1:38:24that are involved

1:38:25>> uh when you give the mic up give me your

1:38:27contact information and I'll

1:38:31>> respond someone that I called told me

1:38:33that you don't normally be on there more

1:38:35than 10 years before they call you next

1:38:38question cuz 2 minutes is not that

1:38:42GBI. If I have a child that I just

1:38:46signed up and he's fearful for his life

1:38:49because of the things that's going on

1:38:51out here in the street, is there any way

1:38:53you can help us?

1:38:57>> Absolutely. You said your son was just

1:38:58signed up for GVI.

1:38:59>> Well, if your son was just signed up for

1:39:01CGVI, he uh should have been assigned a

1:39:04case manager. when they when he goes in

1:39:06to see his case manager, they're going

1:39:08to do an assessment and off that

1:39:09assessment, they're going to uh create a

1:39:11a individual service plan. That

1:39:13individual service plan will be

1:39:15basically all the things that he needs.

1:39:16We'll outline all the various things

1:39:18that we need and the various steps that

1:39:20we're going to take in order to um help

1:39:21and support him. So, if he's scared

1:39:24right now, um that's a conversation

1:39:26we'll have with him. If there are safety

1:39:27concerns, we can have that with him, you

1:39:29case manager, and then from there, we'll

1:39:31come up with a plan to alleviate those

1:39:33uh safety issues. even if it, you know,

1:39:35if it could come down to, you know, relo

1:39:37uh temporary relocation, permanent

1:39:39relocation, we do housing vouchers and

1:39:40things of that nature. So, there are

1:39:41opportunities and there are services

1:39:43that we can offer for that. Um, give me

1:39:45your um your name and your uh your

1:39:46number and we'll I'll make sure somebody

1:39:48touches basically.

1:39:50>> Oh, actually, you know what, ma'am?

1:39:53>> This young lady right here,

1:39:55>> that's that's one of my team supervisors

1:39:58and our housing manager. She'll

1:39:59definitely be able to help you out.

1:40:00>> She works for them. She works for me.

1:40:02Yes, sir. She's

1:40:04not a good person.

1:40:08>> Hi, I am I am Gloria Benson. I am

1:40:12>> I'm Gloria Benson. I am a supervisor for

1:40:14GBI.

1:40:16Um I am also the aunt of Kadir Skinner.

1:40:20And of course

1:40:22I came I came up here because I was

1:40:24going to ask a question about something

1:40:26else. But I will say that I am really

1:40:30kind of disappointed when Rail wasn't

1:40:32acknowledged. Um,

1:40:36however,

1:40:38the one thing that did happen that I

1:40:41expected to happen is for him to do what

1:40:43he did, and that was to reach out and

1:40:46hug Rail. And I know at this table

1:40:50between Ray and Jabar that I and and and

1:40:55Corey or whatever I'm I'm I do WHAT WHAT

1:41:00JAVAR WAS TALKING ABOUT WHERE THEY HIT

1:41:01THE STREET. My team hits the street

1:41:03states statewide. That's what I do. We

1:41:06we we send them out right after a

1:41:08shooting. My question my original

1:41:10question was where's somebody from

1:41:13education up here?

1:41:16Because that is a part of the problem.

1:41:18Everybody is talking about the parents,

1:41:20BUT WE GOT TO SEND our kids to school.

1:41:22They got to send them to school. They

1:41:23damned if they do and they damned if

1:41:25they don't. And then where is the

1:41:27truency accountability

1:41:31because I'm I'm dealing with that.

1:41:32That's real with me dealing with the

1:41:35youth life coaches with GBI. That's

1:41:37real.

1:41:38And that was that was my question. As

1:41:41far as um the other things, I'm going to

1:41:44let that play out. as far as with my

1:41:47family, but um as far Yeah.

1:41:50>> Yeah. So, we have somebody on staff that

1:41:52does education.

1:41:54He's not here tonight, unfortunately,

1:41:56but you're right on the money. We do in

1:41:58this out of this facility during the

1:42:01summertime have a reading assist program

1:42:03as we deal with the North Market Street

1:42:05PAL. So, really important as somebody

1:42:08had asked earlier tonight that we need

1:42:10to make sure that our second graders and

1:42:12third graders can read. and uh that's a

1:42:15focus of ours. We're the city doesn't

1:42:20actively run schools, but we can

1:42:22advocate with the Wilmington Learning

1:42:25Collaborative. That was something was

1:42:26set up a few years ago to try to get uh

1:42:29the support for the children that we

1:42:30they need.

1:42:33>> All right, quickly remember we open this

1:42:35gym up to kids after this. So, we're

1:42:37going to I hate to do this. We're going

1:42:39to cut it to one minute. I'm sorry. one

1:42:41minute comment question if you can do it

1:42:43please. We want to make sure we get our

1:42:45children in here after this.

1:42:49>> Good evening. My name is Elijah Druit

1:42:52and uh my organization is called Cat

1:42:54Kindness Heals All Things and I'm here

1:42:57to make an observation of what's

1:43:00happening right now in the city of

1:43:03Wilmington because it's happening right

1:43:04now in this room and it's a fracture. We

1:43:07are all fractured. Nobody's here hearing

1:43:10each other because everyone's talking in

1:43:12their own silos because everybody has

1:43:14their own voice that wants to be heard.

1:43:17Everybody is talking about their own

1:43:18individual pain. Although we're supposed

1:43:21to be here for one reason, and that's to

1:43:23address the violence that's happening in

1:43:26the city overall. Now, I just want to be

1:43:29clear. I'm not from Wilmington. I chose

1:43:33to live here and I'll be 10 years next

1:43:35month and I want to see this city thrive

1:43:39because I believe it is. But we have to

1:43:41come together if we're want to if we

1:43:43want to heal and we need to be able to

1:43:45hear each other in order to do that.

1:43:47We're talking at each other versus

1:43:49talking to each other. And that's the

1:43:52problem. So, I can't hear you because I

1:43:55can't over I can't not hear what I'm

1:43:57saying because I want to talk at you

1:43:59because I want results from you before

1:44:01you can even give them to me. But

1:44:03sometimes maybe the time is a little bit

1:44:06slow. So, you should come out and say

1:44:07something just to address that so it can

1:44:10calm down and settle down and we know

1:44:12that there's progress moving. We need to

1:44:14be able to hear each other and we're not

1:44:17doing that. So,

1:44:26How y'all doing? My name is Joey Dixon.

1:44:28I am a parent, child, and community

1:44:30advocate here in Wilmington.

1:44:33Um, first of all, thank you, Bishop

1:44:35Cook, Mr. Fitzgerald, and Corey for

1:44:37y'all speeches cuz anything other than

1:44:39that, honestly, was word salad. In the

1:44:41communities we come from, we don't eat

1:44:42that. Um, my question is for city

1:44:45council because I done been to way too

1:44:47many town halls to know his care level

1:44:49is not there and I'm just being honest.

1:44:52My question is for city council. Bishop

1:44:54came up with the solutions.

1:44:57>> Solutions is nothing without action.

1:45:01When do we start? Where do we start? Who

1:45:03else do we start with? And I say who

1:45:05else cuz I am a hill. Um, and how and

1:45:10what part do y'all plan on playing in

1:45:11it?

1:45:23Thank you, Daniel.

1:45:25>> Good evening. I do have a question. Um,

1:45:27Mayor,

1:45:29good evening. I do have a question.

1:45:31Mayor, um given the recent um shootings

1:45:35that have happened within the last week,

1:45:38um Chief Compost, could you please share

1:45:40information with us about some of the

1:45:42characteristics

1:45:44of these shootings and what is it that

1:45:46is important for us to know as a

1:45:48community to get ahead of this? What are

1:45:51those

1:45:53the the put that line that bridges

1:45:55what's happening in the gangs and what's

1:45:58happening on the street that can help us

1:46:00to intervene? Really looking for

1:46:02solutions.

1:46:05>> Yeah. Really quickly, uh some of the

1:46:10I I could tell you right here, some of

1:46:11the things that we're seeing is school

1:46:12violence. obviously young men and and

1:46:14women in some cases going back and forth

1:46:16and it's like targeted focus and then

1:46:19you have the retaliation we hadn't a

1:46:21week and a half ago that's exactly what

1:46:23happened

1:46:25>> arguments

1:46:26>> based on arguments based on this thing

1:46:28based on whatever it may be um among

1:46:31these two groups sometimes it's a social

1:46:33media uh something on social media where

1:46:35someone says something and then they get

1:46:37they feel disrespected and then they

1:46:39feel the pressure to respond because

1:46:41their peers are telling them you got to

1:46:42do something about that. And that's the

1:46:44unfortunate part is that social media is

1:46:47is fueling some of this, right? Because

1:46:50they it used to be where we didn't have

1:46:52that social media, but now someone from

1:46:54from there bear can diss someone from

1:46:55Moment and it's on social media and it's

1:46:58and and it's going back and forth and

1:47:00that's creating a lot of it as well. And

1:47:01I think as parents, they need to get

1:47:04more involved and watch the social media

1:47:06and check someone's bedroom to see if

1:47:08they have a handgun that they're not

1:47:09supposed to have. That involvement is

1:47:12critical and I think that's one of the

1:47:14things that hope to work with uh DBI and

1:47:16John Cook as well director Cook that we

1:47:18need to spread this message. We need

1:47:20more parents involved in some of these

1:47:21kids that we know have a high propensity

1:47:24to be involved in this type of activity.

1:47:35You need to provide

1:47:54it

1:47:56to

1:48:02something.

1:48:16Thank you, Miss Tucker.

1:48:22>> Hello. My name is Jordan. I didn't

1:48:24really come up here to ask any

1:48:26questions. I really came up here to make

1:48:29a statement. Um, the first thing I'm

1:48:31going to start with is Miss McCoy. Miss

1:48:33McCoy, I've been waiting to see you, but

1:48:36today you are the only woman sitting

1:48:38here still today. And it's still not

1:48:40even 7 o'clock. So, I'm going to give

1:48:42you your flowers for today.

1:48:45You another day. Um, for the people

1:48:49here, these people will not fight for

1:48:52us. They're not going to fight for our

1:48:54kids. We going to come up here to 20

1:48:56different meetings asking these people

1:48:58all these questions. What they going to

1:49:00do for our youth? are not going to do

1:49:01nothing. Y'all going to have to do it.

1:49:03Like they said, it start from home. It

1:49:05does. But it's a system that it started

1:49:07with. It's a system that it started

1:49:09with. Our kids are not flourishing not

1:49:11only because of home, but because of

1:49:13this broken system. This broken system.

1:49:16I said I didn't have no questions, but I

1:49:17do. I have one. Y'all are black men.

1:49:20It's hard for y'all more than anyone.

1:49:22How can y'all sit here at this panel and

1:49:25allow this to happen? Y'all are not

1:49:27doing nothing. Not only for our youth,

1:49:29but for our older people as well. I

1:49:32didn't get your name, but I know you're

1:49:34a city of Wington housing and

1:49:35everything, right? Yes.

1:49:38Nothing. You are failing the elders.

1:49:42They can't even breathe in the mall in

1:49:44these apartments that they have. THEY'RE

1:49:45PROTESTING AND Y'ALL, NOBODY IN THE CITY

1:49:48OR WINGTON, NOBODY'S THERE FOR THESE

1:49:50PEOPLE, FOR THE YOUTH, for these elders,

1:49:52for nobody. AND Y'ALL SITTING HERE

1:49:54acting like Y'ALL GOT WHAT IT TAKES FOR

1:49:55THE YOUTH, BUT Y'ALL DON'T. YOU'RE NOT

1:49:57IN the city. Y'all are not in these

1:49:59streets. Y'ALL DON'T KNOW THESE KIDS.

1:50:00Y'ALL DON'T KNOW WHAT they need TO BE

1:50:02PROTECTED FROM AT ALL. SO, I DON'T WANT

1:50:05TO HEAR IT. IF Y'ALL REALLY WANT CHANGE,

1:50:07Y'ALL GOING TO HAVE TO GET UP IN THESE

1:50:08STREETS AND SHOW US WHAT Y'ALL WANT

1:50:09CHANGE. WE WANT THE CHANGE. BUT DO

1:50:11Y'ALL? WE PUT Y'ALL HERE. Y'ALL WORKED

1:50:14IT [screaming] FOR US, NOT FOR

1:50:15YOURSELVES. AND I DON'T THINK Y'ALL

1:50:17UNDERSTAND THAT. AND HONESTLY, I'M

1:50:18TIRED. I HAD PLANS TO COME UP HERE AND

1:50:20CUSS EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF Y'ALL OUT.

1:50:23But I'm better than that. I'm better

1:50:25than that. And I'm not A PRODUCT OF MY

1:50:27ENVIRONMENT. And neither will these kids

1:50:28if it's up to me. Y'all have the day

1:50:30y'all deserve.

1:50:34Dan Daniel. Daniel. Can I can I address

1:50:37can I address Ma'am?

1:50:40Young lady,

1:50:42I just want to say thank you so much for

1:50:44giving me my flowers. But what you need

1:50:46to know is that not only I'm a council

1:50:48person, but I'm also a mother who lives

1:50:51here within the city of Wilmington. I'm

1:50:54on the public sa not only am I on the

1:50:55public safety committee, I'm the public

1:50:57safety chair. And it was important for

1:50:59me to be here because I too am suffering

1:51:03from a child who went who suffered

1:51:05violence. If anybody didn't see me on

1:51:08social media, I was making a fuss about

1:51:11our justice system after my son got

1:51:13blown up with a firework and the young

1:51:15man only got one year at Ferris. And I'm

1:51:19like, and he almost died. So, please

1:51:21understand that I'm here too to get

1:51:24answers that I want to make certain that

1:51:26the answers that with the questions that

1:51:28are a that are asked here, we figure out

1:51:30how best to address them that I'm going

1:51:33to be working with these people here at

1:51:35this table to figure out what type of

1:51:37ordinances that need to happen.

1:51:40>> Yes. Okay. All right. I'm sorry. I said

1:51:42I just want to make certain that people

1:51:43understand that we're here for a reason

1:51:45and that we're not going to it's not

1:51:46going to fall on deaf ears. I just had

1:51:49to address it.

1:51:51My name is Margaret Evans.

1:51:56My name is Margaret Evans. I've lived in

1:51:58Wilmington, Delaware for 60 years. You

1:52:01still can't hear me?

1:52:03>> My little voice. I said, "My name is

1:52:05Margaret Evans. I've lived in

1:52:06Wilmington, Delaware for 60 years. I've

1:52:08watched the city change. I'm a retired

1:52:11firefighter. My question is this. Does

1:52:14the fire department and the police

1:52:16department have a recruiting process for

1:52:19the inner city? Because I've seen people

1:52:21come out of the city and then they sit

1:52:23around and talk bad about the city.

1:52:25Therefore, they talk bad about

1:52:27conversation. So, you need to recruit

1:52:29within the best and I hope that that

1:52:32happens. For the first for the most

1:52:34part, the city runs well no matter what

1:52:36they're saying.

1:52:37>> I know it does.

1:52:38>> You know, and one other issue directed

1:52:41to you, sir. They're growing the city,

1:52:44but I've seen them take jobs out of the

1:52:46city. And everywhere I go, there's a

1:52:48$5,000 signing bonus. There's no jobs in

1:52:52the city, so they're standing around on

1:52:54the corners.

1:52:57I do apologize, but we have to open the

1:52:59gym back up. If you have other comments

1:53:01or questions, please see us afterwards.