Crackdown on gun violence leads to more than 130 arrests in Pompano Beach

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

11 4 minutes read

The Broward Sheriff's Office and several other agencies have arrested more than 130 people in Pompano Beach over the past six weeks, officials said Wednesday, part of an all-out crackdown on a part of the city where gun violence is rampant and has left residents desperate and desperate to find peace. .

The arrests, all made as part of “Operation Trigger Lock,” came months after a March meeting in which city commissioners criticized the Broward Sheriff's Office for not doing enough to put end to violence.

Shortly after the March meeting, Sheriff Gregory Tony met with residents to discuss what they needed to try to stem the tide of shootings, not only through law enforcement, but also through changes in the physical environment and opportunities that could help people in the community get out of the situation. poverty and far from crime.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony walks past a poster of confiscated items from Operation Trigger Lock after a news conference at BSO headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. The multi-agency operation targeted crime and gang activity in Pompano Beach. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

“We go out, we risk our lives, we go after the wrong people, but it becomes cyclical because there are other community issues that are not being addressed,” Tony said at a news conference announcing the arrests Wednesday.

These problems include convenience stores where shootings are endemic and a lack of education and job opportunities that leave some young people feeling like they have no choice but to turn to crime.

“These young men have no way to make a living, so they resort to crime,” Tony Sands, a local football coach and community activist, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It has to be a partnership between the school system, the sheriff and the community. The school system must train students for life and bring back courses like homeschooling, carpentry and mechanics. These courses are canceled; these young men don't have these opportunities.

Operation Trigger Lock began April 16, the same day as the community meeting on gun violence. Over the past few weeks, northwest Pompano Beach has at times resembled a war zone. Armored tanks rolled through the streets accompanied by deputies wearing helmets and carrying rifles. The deputies worked alongside a range of other organizations: the Broward and U.S. state attorney's offices, police departments in Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderhill and Plantation, and at least four federal agencies .

The operation had two phases, Tony said: gathering information, then executing search warrants and making arrests. Much of the first phase relied on gang informants, social media sites like Instagram, and online “gang forums” where people discuss shootings and street culture, sometimes boasting about their own involvement.

The unmistakable presence of MPs in military fatigues has led to an increase in online “chatter” that can help deter violence, Tony said. Images on a bulletin board in the center of the room during Wednesday's press conference showed exchanges on Reddit forums discussing BSO's crackdown.

“Sheriff Tony is trying to put him down,” one person wrote in response to an Instagram video of an unmarked tank with the caption “An ordinary day in Pompano Beach Florida.”

Another person replied: “It used to be just unmarked cars driving around now making it obvious as fuck. »

Ultimately, the operation resulted in 132 arrests, the execution of 14 search warrants, the recovery of 38 firearms, and the confiscation of drugs including cocaine, fentanyl, alpha PVP , oxycodone and heroin, BSO said in a statement. Five people were charged with murder and three were documented gang members. Other charges include armed robbery and drug trafficking.

A Broward County Sheriff's Office exhibit shows a list of those arrested. The multi-agency Operation Trigger Lock targeted crime and gang activity in Pompano Beach. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

It was not immediately clear how many of those arrested were directly linked to the gun violence that has unfolded in recent months. The number of homicide victims fell from four in March to zero in April, according to a Sheriff's Office report to city commissioners, although some crimes, such as thefts, increased. The May report was not yet available.

Tony stressed that the series of arrests is not the end. Deputies will continue to patrol the area at a “high pace,” he said, because that’s what residents want. But they also want more than that.

“People in these communities have to live with this every day, more than us,” Tony said. “They are the ones who push their children away from the window because there are bullets flying. They're the ones who can't sit in their living room anymore because there's a threat of gang violence on the street…I want to see county government respond and I want to see city officials respond, because otherwise, like I said, we'll be back here in a few months.

Two city commissioners, Andrea McGee and Alison Fournier, were also present Wednesday. They welcomed the crackdown and said they were working on other areas that fall under their purview, such as code enforcement, which could punish and even close businesses that have become hotspots for shootings.

“We will do everything we can to crack down on these stores,” said Fournier, who accompanied deputies during the operation and toured some community stores herself. “They can’t have them as meeting places and places of passage.”

Another theme raised on Wednesday was that of development. In Pompano Beach, economic disparities are pronounced. Tony and the commissioners talked about encouraging development in the area to help improve living conditions, although gentrification could also displace residents.

McGee said she hopes to bring in businesses that will provide jobs to people who already live in the community and give them a chance for upward mobility.

“I think those types of opportunities are what allow you to come back to the community you came from or at least stay there and really grow there,” McGee said. “…I think if we can attract that type of investment into our cities, that's where we can finally really start to gain traction.” »

In addition to education, Sands said residents themselves also need to work more with deputies.

“As a community, we need to do as much as they do,” he said of BSO, “which communicates with law enforcement.” It takes both sides to defeat this epidemic that is gripping our communities. Communities and law enforcement need to work together.

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