CITY COUNCIL OKs ANTIDRUG LAW

TAMPA - Calling it a new tool in the fight against street-level narcotics,
police will soon be able to arrest people for behaving like drug dealers.

The Tampa City Council unanimously adopted the nation's most specific
``precursor law.'' The new ordinance, which applies citywide, gives police
the authority to arrest someone for acting like a drug dealer - exchanging
small packages for cash or getting in and out of cars from the same street
corner. The ordinance will take effect when it's signed by the mayor.

``The residents in these drug-infested areas are so frustrated they feel
desperate,'' police Capt. Marion Lewis said. ``The drug dealers sell drugs
on our street corners like they have been granted a permit from the city
council.''

Police would have to give the suspect a written warning before making an
arrest. A third precursor act would be violating a court order to stay away
from a neighborhood.

Those convicted of the misdemeanor charge could face up to 60 days in jail.

Assistant City Attorney Gina Grimes said neighborhoods with the highest
number of drug arrests also rank above-average in rapes, assaults and
property crimes.

Officials passed antiloitering laws in 1990 to arrest suspected prostitutes
and drug dealers, but the laws were found unconstitutional by the state
Supreme Court in 1993 for being too broad. This time the city narrowed the
law to specific acts, officials say, to avoid a repeat of that error.