ST. LOUIS POLICE CRACK DOWN ON DRUG TRADE

To the innocent passer-by, a pair of tennis shoes dangling from a
power line at 20th Street near Fairground and O'Fallon parks may be a
sign of young children at play. But in this St. Louis neighborhood,
the shoes represent something far from child's play.

"The shoes tell people coming from Interstate 70 where to buy drugs,"
St. Louis Police Sgt. Ron Robinson said recently as he examined a
plastic bag containing about 15 individually wrapped rocks of crack
cocaine near the intersection.

Robinson and his anti-gang team confiscated the drugs during a night
raid at 20th Street and John Avenue. His heavily armed unit surprised
five men suspected of selling drugs on the corner. The confiscated
drugs have a street value of about $300, Robinson said.

Robert Calvin, 62, witnessed part of the raid. He was visiting
relatives in the neighborhood when the anti-gang unit moved in.

"I thank the Lord!" Calvin said. "The police did a good job. This is
what they should be doing all the time."

Following a rash of shootings, St. Louis police have moved
aggressively into this neighborhood to try to stem escalating violence.

Since April 1, nine people have been murdered and a number of others
wounded as rival gangs and drug dealers have gone to battle, sometimes
leaving innocent victims in the crossfire.

The most notorious shootings took place April 16 when a gunman fatally
wounded three men. A suspect was caught a week later in New York.

On April 24, three men were killed by gunmen in separate drive-by
shootings in the Fairground Park vicinity.

And then there was the murder of Randy Cox, a high school senior with
aspirations of attending college. He was gunned down May 5 at Athlone
Avenue and Rosalie Street. His murder has gone unsolved.

On April 2, a man and woman were shot in a house in the 4100 block of
Lee Avenue.

And just two weeks ago, a St. Louis officer was hit by gunfire while
pursuing carjacking suspects on West Florissant Avenue at College Avenue.

Since last month, the anti-gang unit and the department's Street
Corner Apprehension Team have made more than 400 arrests and
confiscated large quantities of drugs, police say. The crackdown is
aimed at putting an end to the killings, Robinson said.

It's About Drugs And Territory

Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr., D-3rd Ward, says Police Chief Joseph
Mokwa is doing what he can to attack the problem but it persists.

"They (drug dealers) are like roaches; they keep coming back," he
said. "There is a drug war and a gang war going on over here."

Bosley, who represents the area where many of the shootings have
occurred, says gang members have no respect for the police or anyone
in the neighborhood. Some have a fatalistic view of the world and
their place in it, he said.

"They are not afraid of the police. And many of them feel that by the
time they get to be 25, they will be dead or in jail. Some tell me
they already paid for their funerals in advance," Bosley said.

Much of the killing is due to attempts by rival gangs to kill police
informers who have infiltrated the groups, Bosley said.

He said some gang members seldom think about the future. "It's all
about what they can get today," he said. "How do you tell a young
fellow who makes $300 or $400 a night slinging this poison to give
that up to smash hamburgers at McDonald's?"

Police Respond To Crisis

Since the recent killings began, St. Louis' elite Mobile Reserve unit
that normally patrols citywide has been assigned to assist district
officers in patrolling neighborhoods near the two parks.

Police statistics show that since January, homicide detectives have
investigated 60 killings citywide. Since April 1, more than 25 people
have been gunned down in neighborhoods north of Market Street, and
many of these murders were near Fairground and O'Fallon parks.

Even with the extra attention being given to the neighborhoods near
the parks, Chandra Newton, 48, says she can't detect any increase in
police patrols in the area.

"I really don't feel safe even when the police are around. They
(police) are never there when we need them," Newton said.

Colesha Robins, a cashier for the Schnucks supermarket at 4127 North
Grand Boulevard, says that increased patrolling is a great idea but
the city lacks the manpower to effectively cover the area.

"I feel safe, but there are not enough police officers. It's
summertime; that is when most of the killings increase in this area,"
Robins said.

Robins and Newton say they have lost loved ones in drive-by
shootings.

Bosley said community leaders and police have been working for years
to drive drug dealers off the neighborhood corners. He said a
beefed-up police presence is helpful. Bosley says he understands
residents' frustration but added it takes cooperation from the
residents to do the job.

"I think the police are doing all they can do," Bosley said. "The
police are all that we have, but the people are afraid to call them."