Birmingham City Councilor Steven Hoyt suggested the city bring the National Guard to “help us control this city” after a violent weekend left five people dead in Jefferson County.
“Growing up, my mother told me if you don’t know how to do something, ask somebody. Get some help. If the governor can’t get things in order, she calls the president. Maybe we need to call the National Guard in here to help us control this city,” Hoyt said after Mayor Randall Woodfin gave his mayor’s report.
Hoyt specifically referenced the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Michael James Weeks, who was shot dead in the Belview Heights community Monday night. Belview Heights is in Hoyt’s district. Hoyt wanted Woodfin to talk about his plan to address the violence issue in Birmingham.
“We’ve done tried all these studies. We’ve tried a couple of studies or what have you. It ain’t working. We brought a new chief in here, it ain’t working. I’m just trying to figure out. People are scared. People are terrorized. I think there are some things we can do,” Hoyt said, suggesting a “zero tolerance” policy.
In January 2017, President Donald Trump threatened to send the National Guard to Chicago if the city wasn’t able to reduce the number of homicides in the city.
Woodfin responded by providing statistics on the number of guns removed from Birmingham streets this year. He said more than 500 guns have been confiscated since January 1.
“We will not be calling the National Guard. I want to speak directly to the residents of Belview Heights who were not able to be here this morning but can hear my voice or are watching. Your neighborhood is very safe. These are not random killings. These are not random murders. These are interaction between people who know each other,” Woodfin said. “There is no terror in Belview Heights. Based on the definition of terrorism, these things that are happening are very personal in nature.”
Hoyt responded with stories about his wife, daughter and neighbor being afraid to come home alone.
“That’s not life. That’s not quality of life. I should be able to go to my house. My wife should be able to go to our house and all this without fear. Terror is something that’s real,” he said. “Most of these African American nonprofits--you’re going to zero them out, including Party with a Purpose. It’s there to provide job opportunities, health awareness all those things that help to increase quality of life, but you zero it out,” Hoyt said referencing Woodfin’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which includes cuts to many nonprofits that have enjoyed funding from the city for a number of years.
Five people were fatally shot within a 32-hour period in Jefferson County this past weekend.
Week’s death marks the 55th homicide in Birmingham so far in 2019. Of those, at least seven have been ruled justifiable and therefore are not deemed criminal by the Birmingham Police Department. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 83 homicides, including the 55 in Birmingham.
At this time last year, Birmingham police had investigated 47 homicides. Birmingham ended 2018 with 107 homicides, down from 111 in 2017. Still, it was one of the deadliest years in recent Magic City history.
Watch Tuesday’s city council meeting here: