Crime & Safety
Gun Violence To Be Topic Of Police Chief's 1st Community Forum
Newly appointed Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor will host a community forum on gun violence public meetings Monday, Feb. 28.
TAMPA, FL — Caleb Jefferson is at the top of a list his family prayed he'd never make.
The 27-year-old was the first person to die in Tampa in 2022 due to gun violence.
"He was such a character, always talking and making someone laugh," said his aunt, Monica Nelams. "I will love him for always and miss his infectious smile."
Jefferson was shot at 12:34, Jan. 16 near the 5700 block of Steven Court, just two minutes after Tampa police received another call of a shooting in the 6700 block of Elm Court in Tampa.
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Police believe the two shootings are related, but have yet to make any arrests.
Caleb Jefferson was fatally shot Jan. 16 at the age of 27. His aunt described him as good-natured, "always talking and making someone laugh."
Jefferson's photo is the latest to be added to the Tampa page for the Gun Violence National Memorial. That list includes the names and photos of seven more Tampa residents killed by guns in 2021, including 4-year-old Suni Michelle Bell, killed in a drive-by shooting in East Tampa on Aug. 22.
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In an effort to put an end to Tampa's escalating gun violence, newly appointed Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor will host the third in a series of community forums on gun violence Monday, Feb. 28 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Saint Leo University Tampa Education Center, 403 N. Howard Ave., Tampa.
Also attending will be Rise Up For Peace founder and CEO Patricia Brown, who lost her own son to gun violence in March 2020.
O'Connor will discuss new initiatives being put in place to help combat the problem.
Tampa Police said there were a record 47 homicides, both gun-related and other methods of killing) in 2021, a 65 percent increase from 2020. In all, there were 243 shootings in Tampa last year, with 194 of those victims surviving. Of that total, 82 shootings took place in East Tampa.
In all, 204 people have been fatally shot in Tampa since 2016.
"My first priority is connecting with the community," O'Connor said, who was named police chief Feb. 10, replacing former chief Brian Dugan, who resigned. "I believe in building a team approach to crime fighting. We must work together to prevent and solve crimes in this city.
"As I stand before you today, I am committed to finding new ways of working together as a team to ensure that the community and every member of it has a voice in the police department," O'Connor said. "It's always been our commitment to serve you, and now we will take this to the next level by working together to stop violence from prevailing in our city."
O'Connor worked for the Tampa Police Department for 22 years, rising to the rank of assistant chief before retiring in 2016.
Upon retiring, O'Connor traveled the country, teaching and sharing her expertise with law enforcement and criminal justice executives. She’s also served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"I'm sure you're all aware there's been a violent crime increase around our country," she said. "Combatting that trend is also one of my top priorities. I've learned from my work with the Department of Justice and FBI LEEDA (composed of executive officers and command staff of law enforcement agencies around the nation) the importance of identifying root causes of crime and then partnering with social services to address and prevent crime from taking place.
"Partnering with social services will take the burden off police offices and provide people with the help and services they truly need," O'Connor said. "We can't arrest our way out of the problem. That just doesn't work."
In the meantime, Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera is planning a workshop in the coming months to find ways to support the victims of violent crime.
"You have mothers, you have fathers, you have sons and daughters and siblings and loved ones who are left behind with a lifetime of agony and despair,” Viera said. “I'll be meeting with city staff. I'll be meeting with the police. I'll be meeting with organizations like Rise Up for Peace. My big agenda in this was to ask the question, ‘what is the city of Tampa doing to help victims of crime?’ And how can we better help them, but from a public policy perspective?"
"Families are hurting, and we can't seem to get away from this revolving door of senseless killing," said Rise Up for Peace member Leon Bland. "If you care about your sons and your daughters, if you care about people in general, if you care about making this world a better place, if you care about making Tampa a better place, then do something about it."
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