Sebastian Kitchen, Claire Galofaro, Mark Boxley and Jere Downs

The Courier-Journal

City officials rushed on Wednesday to prove to a terrorized public and questioning metro council that the city is safe from roving mobs of teenagers that besieged downtown and eluded police for hours Saturday night.

On the eve of weekend events expected to draws tens of thousands downtown, Police Chief Steve Conrad pledged ranks of police patrols — on foot, bike, horseback and squad cars.

Mayor Greg Fischer unveiled a $227,000 plan to add 24 cameras to the city's security network. The Louisville Downtown Partnership announced that its team of yellow-shirted "Ambassadors" who greet visitors and patrol the downtown district will work until 1 a.m. this Friday and Saturday, hours beyond their typical 10 p.m. quitting time. The city bus system increased security and downtown businesses promised to protect their patrons in the events of unrest.

But the frustration simmered as downtown businesses have divulged that they've experienced problems with groups of teenagers crowding down South First Street on weekends before.

"We've dealt with this for a while," Adam Bader, service station manager at Bader's Food Mart, told The Courier-Journal in an interview early Wednesday. His mother Paula, repeated that assertion later in the day during a specially called meeting of the Metro Council's public safety committee.

Adam Bader said Louisville Metro Police officers often warn them that groups of kids are forming, and his staff is usually able to get the doors locked to keep them out — it's part of employee training, he said. "We just usually catch it in time."

Adding to the turmoil Wednesday was the revelation that a grand jury had declined to charge the man accused of stabbing a 14-year-old boy to death on a TARC bus on March 16 — in an incident that police have said may have sparked last weekend's unrest. Grand jurors found that Anthony Rene Allen had acted in self-defense when he jabbed a knife at a group of teens who attacked him on a TARC bus; Me'Quale Offutt died two days later.

The mob of teenagers who poured through downtown streets Saturday night, beating people, looting a store and vandalizing cars had originally gathered for a vigil to honor Offutt, according to police.

Conrad, along with activist Christopher 2X, pleaded with teenagers on Wednesday not to lash out in response to the grand jury's decision.

Security upgrades

City officials meanwhile announced a host of security measures meant to protect the city in the event of another bout of violence.

Fischer ordered 24 additional security cameras, to be installed before the Thunder Over Louisville air show on April 12, and the Kentucky Derby Festival events in the weeks after. The widening of the city's surveillance network will include new cameras at the Big Four Bridge, playgrounds, parking lots and open, grassy areas on the waterfront, he added.

Transit Authority of River City said it is increasing security on city buses, though declined to detail the specific plan or say whether a guard will be posted on every bus.

The Louisville Metro Police Department also will station two officers at the foot of the Big Four Bridge around the clock, Deputy Police Chief Col. Yvette Gentry said Wednesday.

Another four officers will patrol Waterfront Park between 4 p.m. and midnight Sunday through Thursday. Two additional officers, for a total of six, will patrol the park on weekend nights. Four more officers will be assigned to Fourth Street Live in the evenings through the weekend.

Eight additional officers will be stationed at various points along West Broadway, from 4 p.m. through 2 a.m. every night. And VIPER and K9 units will be sent to problem areas, she said.

That staffing plan runs through April 6, the Sunday after spring break, and Gentry said it could be extended if necessary.

Another 100 officers will be shifted throughout the city to patrol targeted areas on days when crowds are expected.

For example, thousands are expected to swarm downtown and the University and Baxter Avenue areas for Friday night's Sweet 16 game between Louisville and Kentucky. Some 14,000 baseball fans are expected downtown to see the Cincinnati Reds play the Louisville Bats in a sold-out match on Saturday; another 10,000 are anticipated for the UofL women's basketball team NCAA playoffs Sunday at the KFC YUM! Center; and thousands more at the weekend Comic-Con conference.

Security staff at the Yum! Center will be working as usual to monitor arena cameras that watch sidewalks, parking areas and inside "the bowl," said general manager Dennis Petrullo.

"We are doing what we do all the time. We are comfortable everything is fine here," said Petrullo, adding he lives in a waterfront apartment, and walks, runs or bikes downtown daily. "This is a wonderful environment. We are used to handling large crowds here."

Rebecca Matheny, spokeswoman for the Louisville Downtown Partnership. The organization, which promotes downtown development, said it sent off an email blast to some 5,200 businesses, individuals and institutions about last weekend's mayhem, asking that safety concerns be communicated by calling 911, with the goal that downtown and Waterfront Park "remain safe, vibrant and positive places to be."

Adam Bader, whose Bader's Food Mart on South First Street was one of the first stops by teens roaming downtown Louisville last Saturday night, sending six to the hospital, said he isn't taking any new security measures for his business.

Karter Louis, owner of Hillbilly Tea on South First Street, said he's watched groups of teenagers wander downtown for years on warm weekends. It's not something that happens every Friday and Saturday night, but almost, he said.

One time of year the teenage crowds are conspicuously absent is the week leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Louis said, adding that he believes that's because police on horseback are a constant presence at that time."But we deserve that every weekend," he said.

"If they do that — if they did half of that, year round — it would make a huge difference," he said, adding that restaurant security like extra lights and alarms offer little help without more police protection. "We have everything from our side to deter people," he said. "But there's no (police) presence here."

Bader said he hopes Saturday night's violence has opened some eyes and prompts changes to keep visitors, residents and businesses safe.

"I hope this is the final straw," he said.

Council reacts

Several members of the Louisville Metro Council, during a special meeting of the Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, appeared taken aback that while Saturday was an unprecedented event that unrest is not uncommon downtown and along the waterfront.

Concerned Metro Council members questioned Conrad and the operators of Bader's Food Mart.

The Baders said that it is common for groups to gather at their store several times a week, taking merchandise and trying to flip a vehicle on at least one occasion. Conrad confirmed eight calls in the last two years for large groups and seven reports of "trouble." There were dozens of other calls.

Council members expressed concern about the possible level of criminal behavior, with Councilman Jerry Miller pointing out statistics for crime not being currently available online for much of downtown and a 2011 incident in which a gathering led to the beating of a handicapped man.

"I'm a little worried there is a cover-up here," Miller said. "… That is what it appears to the citizenry."

Miller said he looked and did not see crime "anywhere north of Main Street for the last three months."

Conrad attributed the issue with the crime not being on the web site to a technical problem that is being addressed, but said the timing was "unfortunate."

"I don't think there is an effort to sugarcoat that" Conrad said of what he said is a glitch in showing crime statistics downtown.

Conrad said Saturday was "extremely unique" and unusual for Waterfront Park, downtown and for the city.

"However, there have been instances in the past where large groups of young people come together," the chief said. He said those groups "caused us similar problems but nothing to degree that we saw Saturday night." Conrad said they sometimes have to address rowdy youth during Thunder Over Louisville or celebrations for the 4th of July.

Conrad told Council members he will provide them a list of any criminal activity in Waterfront Park in last 90 days.

More questions

Councilwoman Vicki Aubrey Welch also questioned why there were not more arrests "out of all those incidents with all that action going on."

Conrad said there was a total of four arrests and acknowledged that was not many with all of the activity, but said officers did not witness some of the incidents and that there is an ongoing investigation in which they are trying to identify other people responsible.

LMPD spokesman Dwight Mitchell said later only two people have been arrested in connection to the incident – an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old juvenile -- and one other juvenile was ticketed.

In responding to concerns from Council members about whether enhancing security downtown meant fewer officers in their district, Conrad said they are additional officers being funded from money allocated for overtime and are not being moved from elsewhere. He said they do bring in officers during other key times such as Thunder Over Louisville and the Kentucky Derby.

The budget for overtime is $3.6 million, Conrad said, of which $2.5 million was spent by the end of February. He said he has $1.1 million remaining for the rest of the fiscal year and expects to meet and likely exceed that allotment.

Conrad argued, looking at numbers and the drop in crime, that current staffing levels and funding are adequate. Councilman Kevin Kramer said he and his colleagues have looked to increase the police budget to fund more officers for years, arguing they are understaffed, and encouraged Conrad to listen and reconsider this year.

Reporter Claire Galofaro can be reached at (502) 582-7086. Reach her on Twitter @clairegalofaro. Reporter Sebastian Kitchen can be reached at (502) 582-4475. Reach him on Twitter @writeonsk.

Security measures

• Two officers will be stationed at the foot of the Big Four Bridge 24 hours a day

• Four officers will patrol Waterfront Park between 4 p.m. and midnight Sunday through Thursday. Six will patrol on weekend nights

• Eight officers will be stationed at various points along West Broadway, from 4 p.m. through 2 a.m. every night

• Four officers will be stationed at Fourth Street Live

• 24 security cameras will be installed along the waterfront and on the bridge before Thunder Over Louisville

Local Events

Today:

• Man UP news conference: Sweet Peaches Restaurant, 1800 West Muhammad Ali Blvd., 11 a.m.

• Youth Conversations sponsored by the Mayor's Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods: Boys and young men will meet at the Yearlings Club, 4309 West Broadway, 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

• Youth Conversations sponsored by the Mayor's Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods: Girls and young women will meet at the Louisville Urban League, 1535 West Broadway, 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Sunday:

• Community walk across the Big Four Bridge: 1 p.m.