YOUNGSTOWN – Police Chief Carl Davis announced Thursday that he and Mayor Jamael Tito Brown recently met with an adviser to Governor Mike DeWine to discuss strategies to eradicate the few people responsible for large amounts of violence in the city .
He said the governor’s office is working to “isolate” Youngstown with various types of resources, such as helping police to identify individuals involved in violent activity and drug trafficking.
The city had its 15th murder of the year on Tuesday. There were 28 murders in the city in 2020.
The governor’s office also plans to provide grants to expand or improve the city’s ShotSpotter program, which warns police of gunfire on the city’s south side.
Members of the Youngstown City Council’s Safety Committee recently discussed such an expansion, but the cost was deemed too high at the time.
“They are also ready to help fund body cameras to equip all of our officers,” added Davis.
The police have been testing a type of body camera for several weeks while preparing to launch a body camera program.
At a press conference at the police station, Davis also raised concerns that the early Tuesday murder in the Savo Bar and Grille parking lot on South Avenue may have been a revenge killing.
The shooting killed Abdul Muhammad, 30, and injured a second man. At the time, Mohammed was wanted in Youngstown with two arrest warrants.
One was on South and East Lucius Avenues for the November 19th murder of Marquis Bebbs, 35. Youngstown police said they believe Muhammad and Bebbs were involved in an argument at the Coconut Grove tavern, 3229 South Ave., near where Bebbs’ body was found.
The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force offered a reward in January for information that would lead to the capture of Mohammad.
The other warrant was for the shooting of Van Lightning, 30, just after midnight on New Year’s Day on the corner of Glenwood and Almyra Avenues on the South Side.
Davis said the three murders suggest that Muhammad’s death was a revenge killing for one or both of the previous murders.
“Street justice is the punishment of people who are believed to be criminals or wrongdoers,” said Davis.
“If someone does you injustice, you want to get back at them, despite the biblical invitation to turn the other cheek. Most of us hesitate to do this, ”said Davis.
“The urge to take revenge is so ingrained in our culture. That’s why Mayor Brown and I are here today to counter this street justice mentality, ”he said. “Such conflicts are never resolved forever. With every new blow or attack, a counterattack is generated, which leads to a deepening cycle of instability and violence. “
Davis said he and the mayor “continue to urge those who commit these crimes to stop doing what they are doing and to reflect on the consequences these actions have for the community.”
He said Youngstown police had “worked tirelessly to solve these crimes and keep the community safe.”
Ramone Cox, deputy detective superintendent, said police were unaware that Muhammad’s murder was revenge for two previous murders, “but we don’t want it to continue like this”.
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