TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police launched the “Town Hall Tuesdays” initiative at New Testament Worship Center in the Grant Park neighborhood.

What You Need To Know

  • TPD launched its "Town Hall Tuesdays" initiative in Grant Park

  • Meetings will be held in each sector of the city to help police build relationships with communities in an effort to curb crime

  • Residents will also be able to ask questions and address concerns with officers

  • The next meeting will take place in late July

“This is an opportunity for the Tampa Police Department to come out here and create bonds with the community,” said Maj. Eric DeFelice. 

Police said the plan is to hold the meetings in each of the city’s six sectors. A panel of officers lets attendees know about the work they’re doing in the community, and neighbors get the chance to ask questions of law enforcement and let them know about concerns. New Testament Lead Pastor Deborah Comellas told officers about the changes she’s seen in Grant Park in the 11 years she’s been there.

“It was never a surprise for us to just come to the church office, and there would be a drug sale going on. I want you to know, I have not seen that in years,” Comellas said before crediting TPD’s willingness to work with the church.

She told Spectrum Bay News 9 there are still some issues.

“There have been a few break-ins, but we used to have a problem with gangs and everything. That has subsided immensely,” Comellas said.

Police also heard from residents like Cody Fetherolf, who said his stress and anxiety are up since moving to the neighborhood three years ago.

“I’ve had to be put on additional medication just to be able to basically even sleep at night and to be able to even function at work recently because I feel like my safety is at risk,” Fetherolf said. 

According to police, overall crime is down two percent citywide, with violent crime down 7.2% and homicides decreased by 19%. However, non-fatal shootings are up by 2.4%. Those same trends are being seen in District 3, which includes Grant Park and East Tampa. 

“Grant Park ebbs and flows with its crime patterns,” DeFelice said. “They’ve had, in the not-so-recent past, some violent crime, some shootings here. So, we take that, we know what we’re dealing with, and we have taken our additional resources and put them here to try to quell that or reduce those number of instances.”

DeFelice said meetings like this help police learn about neighborhoods’ specific needs. At Tuesday’s town hall, officers told neighbors they’d like to work with communities to support existing neighborhood watch groups and revitalize others that have gone defunct — like in Grant Park.

Fetherolf asked during the meeting how he can help.

“If the city is making Grant Park a priority, I will be more than happy to assist with being a community lead to make this community a great and a safe place,” he said.

TPD said the next town hall will take place on July 25, with the location to be determined.