ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- The city of St. Petersburg is taking some three million dollars in grant money that was to be used on hiring 25 new officers, and using it to set up a unit of unarmed community liaisons to deal with nonviolent situations.
Police Chief Anthony Holloway says the city will use those social workers to handle nonviolent calls, such as a child who refuses to go to school.
Holloway says many of his officers, despite being well-trained, don't have the experience or expertise to be the go-to people in situations where people are not seeking harm, but help.
"Our police department is very young, the average age is about 25, and some of these men and women don't even have kids at home. But we're asked, sometimes, to help someone raise their kid... or help someone that has a mental issue."
The CALL (Community Assistance Liaison) program will have three social workers assigned to each police district, and will be staffed from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Holloway and the leader of the police union say not sending officers to nonviolent calls will help free up time and resources. The chief plans to use some of that time to double up on training, in areas such as de-escalation, self-defense (to emphasize hand to hand), impartial policing, and cultural issues.
The chief also plans to evaluate all of the department's hardware, and see what's essential.
Mayor Rick Kriseman says the changes are part of his plan to "reimagine" the police department, a response given urgency by the protest over George Floyd's death. He also invited leaders of the protests to sit down and have a discussion how to "create leading change."
Earlier in the day, police released a video showing protesters blocking an emergency vehicle, as an explanation for the city's decision to start handing out traffic tickets to protesters who block streets or intersections.
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