Pubdate: 02 Sep, 1999 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 1999, The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Forum: http://tampabayonline.net/interact/welcome.htm THE ANATOMY AND GOAL OF A DRUG RAID The news reports were brief. Tampa police arrested 20 people in a roundup of suspected drug dealers' The recent event seems minor but reflects the difficult and laborious battle police wage against parasitic criminals. Drug peddlers, prostitutes and other street criminals can choke the life out of a neighborhood. Fearful residents become prisoners in their homes. The sense of lawlessness leads to burglaries, assaults and other crimes. No businesses will invest in the area. Residents who can, move out. Those who cannot remain trapped in a morass of blight and hopelessness. In this case, West Tampa citizens resolved to do something about the dealers who brazenly sold cocaine on residential streets. The citizens went to police last spring, asking them to do something. THE NEIGHBORHOOD contains public housing and working-class homes, some in bad shape, others well-maintained. Close to the river, downtown and the new Blake High School - the performing arts magnet school that is one of the county's most attractive - the neighborhood would have much to commend it were it not for the crime. Tampa police could have gone right in and quickly made a few arrests. But most of the offenders probably would have eluded police, and those who were caught would probably have faced minor charges. Tampa police could have gone right in and quickly made a few arrests. But most of the offenders probably would have eluded police, and those who were caught would probably have faced minor charges. Instead, Police Chief Bennie Holder ordered a more systematic attack. Undercover agents went to work to identify the major "players," learn their operations and develop strong cases against them. Three months later, officers have obtained warrants on 24 suspected dealers. In addition to the undercover agents, a number of other officers from the city's antidrug team are assigned to pick up the dealers. A command station with communications trailer and paddy wagons is set up on a nearby parking lot. Officers review a poster with the name and photograph of each suspect. State probation officers are on hand to go over the records of those arrested. Any on probation will not be able to get out on bail. "We can always arrest them. We want to arrest them and get them off the street for a long time," says Holder. The SWAT team is assigned to make the arrest at the decrepit house said to be the drug-dealing headquarters. Some of the suspects are known to carry firearms. But in the moments before they undertake what could turn into a bloody shootout the officers are upbeat and joking as they load into the transport wagon, sweating in their bulletproof vests on this steamy summer evening. Following behind them are animal control officials; the suspects sometimes keep Rottweilers in the yard. The SWAT team performs its dangerous task with lightning efficiency. A noisy but harmless concussion grenade stuns the suspects, who are sitting on the porch, and within seconds the officers have subdued them and secured the house. A couple of women and a child are inside. Evidence is gathered. The dogs, to the officers' relief, are nowhere in sight. A crowd gathers to watch the excitement. It includes many children, some barely toddlers. Mayor Dick Greco, who frequently accompanies police on such raids, looks on in dismay: "Can you imagine growing up with all this around you? Where drug deals or a raid or even a killing is no big deal?" Now other officers take over, interviewing suspects, reviewing their records, carefully examining the paperwork. Suspects are taken to the command station before being transported to the county WI. Police round up individuals from throughout the neighborhood. This is typical police work - a few moments of excitement followed by hours of tedious toil. But the police can deem the night a success. The prime culprits are taken down - and are unlikely to be selling drugs on West Tampa streets any time soon. Of course, there are always other thugs ready to fill the void. Chief Holder and Greco understand the raid alone won't save the neighborhood. And while most residents quietly support the police, some are loudly resentful. Holder brushes off the complaints. He is a lawman who believes the law should be enforced throughout the city. IT WOULD BE EASY enough to simply give - up on such poor, crime-plagued communities. Many cities do just that, which results in wastelands where only the poor residents venture. But Tampa's trouble spots, fortunately, are not nearly so far gone. Most are relatively small and remain salvageable. And Greco and Holder say they are committed to providing the police support necessary to keep the bad guys in check. But they also know the fate of a neighborhood is ultimately determined by the residents themselves. It's all important work, and not only because the crime left unattended inevitably spills over from such neighborhoods. As Greco says, every child in this city deserves to grow up in a safe neighborhood. - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder