A plea for protection

Mary Lawton was asleep the April night her 17-year-old nephew was shot. The teen, whom Lawton has custody of, was with friends outside Lawton’s home on the 2300 block of Bailey Terrace in the Wilson Park housing development when he took a bullet to the leg.

Lawton, who said she didn’t see or hear anything, said the group was not involved in the violence nor were they the targets, but that her nephew was hit by a stray bullet.

While the shooting was close to home in many ways for Lawton, other residents say they are tired of the violence sweeping the Philadelphia Housing Authority development at 25th and Jackson streets. There are 313 residents in the four high-rise towers, which house senior citizens and their caregivers.Low-rise family units house another 1,183 families and children, bringing the total population at Wilson Park to 1,496, said Philadelphia Housing Authority Director of Communications Kirk Dorn.

In light of the shooting and other violence in the area, Lawton and others said they fear for the lives of the little ones and the older residents.

"It’s terrible with the shootings. Our kids can’t walk to the store," Lawton said.

Kimyetta Lewis lives on Winton Terrace with her 9-year-old son. She said she didn’t feel safe identifying him or providing an address.

"Some of the parents are fearful because their children are outside playing and we don’t feel this is a safe environment. We want to make sure that our children can enjoy the outdoors," Lewis said.

AT THE URGING of some residents, state Sen. Anthony H. Williams called a community meeting June 15 to address the violence plaguing Wilson Park and the surrounding Grays Ferry area.

"The more you complain, the more you voice your concerns, the more you’ll be heard," Williams told the crowd of about 60 people.

Since the 2002 demolition of Tasker Homes in the area of 30th and Morris streets, feuds between Wilson Park and former Tasker teens have occurred, said the senator, as well as police and residents.

"It’s too many children getting shot for no reason because these idiots are randomly shooting at each other. We ought to be able to live here in peace together but it’s not working like that," said Lawton, a former Tasker Homes resident.

According to police, there were 61 shootings in the First Police District from the beginning of this year until June 2. Eight of those and one homicide were in Wilson Park or on the cusp, said First District Capt. Carmen Vuotto. Several of the shootings were drug-related, but the remainder were driven by various disputes, police said.

Things have quieted down a bit, residents and police said, since a suspected drug dealer was arrested along with one of his alleged accomplices.

Demarcus Tucker, 18, of the 2300 block of Bambrey Terrace in Wilson Park, was arrested Feb. 24 after he and another teen allegedly shot a 22-year-old male in his legs in Wilson Park, said Detective Jim Dunlap of South Detective Division. Two others were targeted, but not wounded.

Police said Tucker’s alleged accomplice was Taufeeq Ziyad, 18, of the 2700 block of Wolf Street, also in Wilson Park. Investigators recovered two loaded 9-mm handguns believed to be used in the crime, said Dunlap. Tucker’s bail was set at $1 million and he remains in custody.

"They were responsible for a number of shootings," said Vuotto.

Since the arrests, Lawton said, "It’s kind of died down a bit, but it’s still going on."

Vuotto was among a panel of guest speakers at last week’s meeting that also included First District Community Relations Officer Donato Inverso and City Council President Anna Verna.

PHA Chief of Police Richard Zappalle, PHA counsel Shareef Street and various PHA managers were also present along with Donrich L. Young, a special agent from the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development.

"I would rather hear from you and what your concerns are instead of me giving a lengthy speech on safety," Verna said to the residents.

Many residents voiced concern that police are not doing enough to shield them and their children.

Philadelphia police have jurisdiction over the low-income housing development and PHA police back them up. According to Street, HUD funding cuts have adversely affected PHA police deployment.

"What’s it gonna take to get more police presence out here?" shouted one woman. "We don’t see police until somebody gets shot."

Meanwhile, Lawton shook her head when asked about police presence in the area.

"I don’t see no cop patrolling the area," she said.

Vuotto said just because residents don’t see police doesn’t mean they are not around.

"We have patrols in and around Wilson Park. We work in tandem with [PHA]. Just because you look out the window and don’t see a police car doesn’t mean that we don’t have coverage out there," said Vuotto.

To which Sen. Williams retorted, "Kids in the playground need to see them. They don’t feel safe unless they see them."

Zappalle told residents his officers are working with the First District to solve problems, but the problems didn’t happen overnight, nor can police solve them without help from the community.

Numerous attempts to organize a town watch at Wilson Park have failed, said the chief.

"We’ve been trying for more than a year to organize a town watch at Wilson Park, but we just can’t get volunteers," said PHA’s Dorn. Williams told the residents that police and politicians can only do so much, and the community must take an active role in stopping crime.

A few months ago, Detective Dunlap and his partner, Bob Conn, passed out hundreds of fliers in Wilson Park asking for community input. In addition, First District police handed out similar ones, Vuotto said.

The fliers had the names and phone numbers of Dunlap and Conn so residents could contact them directly with any crime tips.

The second page was an anonymous crime tip sheet for residents to fill out with information, such as type of crime, date, location, name of perpetrator, if weapons or drugs were involved, etc.

Out of the hundreds of fliers distributed, police said, they received only one back.

"We get very few anonymous tips and it’s very disturbing. Fear is one reason, even though you tell them it is anonymous. In some cases it’s just a sense of apathy," Vuotto said.