ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg Police says they are going to start cracking down on demonstrators violating pedestrian laws.
What You Need To Know
- Police will begin enforcing pedestrian violations on protesters blocking traffic
- Officials point to incident where protesters blocked emergency vehicle from going through
- Emergency vehicle in question was not responding to emergency, did not have siren or lights on
- More Pinellas County stories
Officials say the ongoing Black Lives Matter marches in the city are blocking traffic. In one recent instance, police say protesters blocked an emergency vehicle from passing through.
“Even though they’re peaceful at some point they are not letting emergency vehicles through,” said Chief Anthony Holloway. “And it sometimes adds to the point where now you’re cutting into that response time where someone’s calling for help.”
Regarding the incident with the blocked emergency vehicle, however, our investigation revealed that the vehicle wasn’t responding to a call and didn’t have on its siren and lights.
Demonstrators we spoke with say they wouldn’t have blocked it otherwise.
“Although we do take this serious, we do have respect for the emergency field, law enforcement," said Jabaar Edmont, who took part in the protest. "It’s the same peace protest, so there is no reason we wouldn't let an emergency vehicle not go through.”
But in response to complaints about demonstrators regularly blocking traffic, police plan to enforce pedestrian violations. Enforcement of such violations could result in anything from a warning to a $62.50 fine.