Riot In Riverside! July 4th 2008! riot brings mayhem.

[RiversideRatt]

Thanks Riversideratt!

How was the performance??

What did you see with the crowd?

any insights?

I went through the back to the stage area.  The place was very full to the point where people were crowding the stage and being told to get off the stage if you were not part of the show.  I wasn't there for the event. 

I didn't see the performance, but was told earlier in the day that it was the dance thing.  I watched the videos on YouTube of some of the other performances....   Not so much quality dancing.

[NotNow]

The reports of 33's (shots fired) that you see in the log, could be reported by Officers or could be entered by dispatch after reports or complaints by citizens.  The entries don't verify, or deny, that there were weapons going off.  There probably were some firecrackers mistaken as gunshots, but there probably was actual gunfire as well.  Probably into the air as there are no reports of property damage to homes or vehicles, and no wounds.  For many young Officers, these events are a wake up call....leading to UNAUTHORIZED comments on the MDT such as WOW.  For those complimenting JSO's response, thanks.  This board often seems like hostile territory.  Easy, come take a ride on the midnight shift sometime, I think that your eyes will be opened more than you know.

[fpj]

The reports of 33's (shots fired) that you see in the log, could be reported by Officers or could be entered by dispatch after reports or complaints by citizens.  The entries don't verify, or deny, that there were weapons going off.  There probably were some firecrackers mistaken as gunshots, but there probably was actual gunfire as well.  Probably into the air as there are no reports of property damage to homes or vehicles, and no wounds.  For many young Officers, these events are a wake up call....leading to UNAUTHORIZED comments on the MDT such as WOW.  For those complimenting JSO's response, thanks.  This board often seems like hostile territory.  Easy, come take a ride on the midnight shift sometime, I think that your eyes will be opened more than you know.

I agree with the jist of what you are saying here, and I tend to err on the side of caution, however, from the Additional Information section of the General Offense / Incident Report...

On 07/04/08 while working off duty at 1024 Park St., shots were fired in the 800 block of Park St.  I went to the area and was told by several people that a black male was shooting at another black male that was running east on Park St.  Myself and several others searched the area for a potential victim and the suspect with negative results.

I found a shell casing [identified as a "Winchester 40 cal bullet casing" elsewhere in the report -fpj] in the 800 block of Park St. and placed it in the property room.

...so I figure at least one of those reports--from both meanings of the word--was accurately logged as a gunshot.  I assume, too, that they probably were shot into the air, just as I doubt 56s would run in screaming waves away from firecrackers.

Also, while getting the reports and logs earlier today, a couple people were signing up for ride-alongs; I may do that myself [again] as they are indeed eye-openers, and I suggest any and all to do them.

--fpj

[Eazy E]

  Easy, come take a ride on the midnight shift sometime, I think that your eyes will be opened more than you know.

Honestly, I doubt it-- not saying that in a pejorative way towards you, but i used to teach high school, so my eyes were opened beyond belief during that time.  I am sure, however, that you and I could swap notes and stories.

[thebrokenforum]

I think the "race riot" thing stems from people trying to beat around the bush (on message boards) when regarding the kind of crowd the show attracted. I've seen mention of "these kinds of crowds" etc. all eluding to but not directly mentioning race. People have mentioned crowds not typical to the area and businesses saying that there were a lot of people that were not their usual clientele.

As for the news not covering it...i still find that really strange. I'm not buying into the conspiracy theory thing just yet but for them to say that it wasn't news worthy is just plain old crap. It has the makings to become mythic as to what actually happened and to whom.

I am very, very surprised that no one has posted any pictures of the thing. With as many camera phones etc. as there are and with people gagging to catch something, anything interesting to post online...and no one has any photographic evidence?!

[thebrokenforum]

Things like that make me believe even more so that someone didn't want any of that on the news - if that's what actually went down.

I can almost see the guys in the editing room cutting up the footage of cops with assault rifles storming down the streets of Riverside with the headline: Race Riot in Riverside!

The TU's lack of coverage doesn't surprise me though. They suck.

[David]

The reason why it's not being covered by the local news outlets is because no one was shot, mugged, carjacked, beaten, bludgeoned with a blunt object, raped or killed.

If it was a slow news week, maybe. But in crime theater of Jacksonville, this is child's play.

[getintoit]

I think the "race riot" thing stems from people trying to beat around the bush (on message boards) when regarding the kind of crowd the show attracted. I've seen mention of "these kinds of crowds" etc. all eluding to but not directly mentioning race. People have mentioned crowds not typical to the area and businesses saying that there were a lot of people that were not their usual clientele.

As for the news not covering it...i still find that really strange. I'm not buying into the conspiracy theory thing just yet but for them to say that it wasn't news worthy is just plain old crap. It has the makings to become mythic as to what actually happened and to whom.

I am very, very surprised that no one has posted any pictures of the thing. With as many camera phones etc. as there are and with people gagging to catch something, anything interesting to post online...and no one has any photographic evidence?!

A cop that was standing in the center of Margaret, with a rifle- was not facing me. I pulled out my blackberry, and was going to take a pic- however the flash on my blackberry could light up a baseball field. I didn't want him to mistake a flash for anything other than a flash, so I decided against it. Had I had another camera with me, believe me I would have taken LOTS of pics. There was ALOT to take photos of that night.

[Lunican]

Does anyone have any photos or videos to post?

[thebrokenforum]

Does anyone have any photos or videos to post?

It's weird there aren't any isn't is it?

[civil42806]

"Well, let's not start signing me up for the National Review just yet.  It's also been said (by me) that that conservatives are just liberals who are greedy as all hell and don't care about the ramifications (e.g. global warming, modern slavery in Tom Delay's favorite Marinara Islands, massive poverty on a global level) of that greed, or the blatant hypocrisy of that greed in the face of conservatives' other favorite, Christianity.
/ends only somewhat related rant"
I agree, Stephen, that we shouldn't lose focus, but it seems that this is at least tangently related to the cause of this incident: the increasing lawlessness of a broad swath of Jacksonvill'e population.


You forgot the part about where we eat small babies and grind there bones for flour!!

[floridakelly]

Regarding the pictures, I didn't have a digital camera on me and my phone doesn't have a camera (I know, gasp, who even knew they make phones without cameras?).

I guess I also don't know what I would've taken a picture of. Kids standing around? Kids running? When actual fights and scary things were going on, I was more inclined to worry about myself and the people with me than worry about getting proof of the event. I also assumed that the whole thing would be on the news and in the papers shortly and that I wouldn't need to back up my own story so much.

So bizarre.

[thebrokenforum]

Kelly, I wasn't trying to make anyone back up their story. Was just hoping someone had a pic or two.

[RiversideGator]

[fpj]

Does anyone have any photos or videos to post?

NotNow, is there a video camera side by side with the searchlight on the police helicopter?