Local coalition calls for Wichita to no longer accept ‘violent, vile’ behavior (+video)

Saying “enough is enough” about local gun violence, a coalition of Wichita churches and organizations on Monday called for patience, transparency and accountability from the public.

“We have to stand up as a community and say ‘enough is enough’ when it comes to gun violence,” said Djuan Wash, director of communications for Sunflower Community Action, one of the organizations that is part of the coalition.

“We’ve had enough of the violence that has happened in our community, and we won’t stand for it.”

The Wichita Reclaiming African American Purpose coalition’s statement was, in part, a response to the shooting deaths of two people on Dec. 1. Betty Ann Holloman, 55, and Brenton Oliver, 24, were gunned down in the front yard of Holloman’s house in the 2500 block of East Mossman in what police have described as a gang-related shooting. Police said Holloman was not involved in gang activity.

They were the 29th and 30th homicide victims in Wichita so far this year.

On Friday, a 17-year-old West High student was shot and critically injured by a police officer. Police said the teen ran toward the school in an attempt to avoid being apprehended by officers seeking the third of three suspects linked to the double homicide. Police officials say the teen was armed; a gun was recovered from the scene of the shooting.

Further investigation determined the teen and three other people he was with were not connected to the double homicide, police have said.

Coalition urges patience

Monday’s statement from the coalition, delivered at Calvary Baptist Church, 2653 N. Hillside, urged residents to be patient and not jump to conclusions as the Kansas Bureau of Investigation reviews the shooting of the teen.

Police officials have said the officer who shot the teen, a 20-year veteran of the force, is on administrative leave in accordance with department policy while the incident is being investigated.

The statement also urged residents to come forward with any information that may help with solving and prosecuting the double homicide on Mossman.

“As pastors and community activists, we stand united in our condemnation of these cowardly, cold and cruel acts of senseless murder perpetrated in our city and against our residents,” Calvary Baptist Church pastor T. Lamont Holder said, reading the coalition statement.

“It is our hope that those responsible will be brought to justice for their role in these inhumane acts of violence,” Holder continued. “Although the lives of the victims cannot be replaced, it is our hope that the legal process will bring the families a sense of closure at such a dark and trying time.”

The coalition includes Sunflower Community Action, the NAACP, the Greater Wichita Ministerial League and Progressive Alliance of Churches Together.

Sunflower Community Action has been at the forefront of public pressure to have Wichita police officers outfitted with body cameras. City and police officials are in the process of having all officers on duty outfitted with body cameras by the end of the year.

Some of Friday’s shooting at West High was captured on an officer’s body camera. The Eagle on Saturday requested body camera footage, police incident reports and 911 call tapes from the shooting near West High. Police have not yet released the information.

Wash said he also requested body camera footage from the shooting but was told the footage is considered evidence in an ongoing investigation and would not be released.

Releasing that footage “would quell any concerns the community may have as far as what happened,” Wash said.

‘Turn the page’

The coalition’s statement called not only for greater transparency from the police department but also from the Wichita community.

“As we continue to push for accountability and transparency within the police department, it is only fair that we seek the same level of accountability and transparency from the community in speaking up and speaking out regarding the double homicide,” Holder said.

It’s time to “turn the page” in the community’s relationship with the police department, Holder said. People need to “speak up about criminal activity in our community.”

A healthy partnership between residents and the police is vital, Holder said, “if these types of heinous crimes are to be prevented and solved.”

“This past week’s tragic murders are deeply troubling and under no circumstances acceptable,” Holder said. “As a community, we can no longer afford to allow these types of violent, vile and nonsensical patterns of behavior to go unchallenged, unchanged or uncharged.”

Following a tip

Friday’s shooting outside West High came as police were searching for three known suspects linked to the killings of Holloman and Oliver. Police received “reliable information” that the suspects could be found at one of two locations, authorities have said.

One suspect was arrested at one of the locations given to police Friday. A second was arrested on I-135, according to police records.

Police went to the second suspected location and saw a pickup leaving with four men inside on Friday night. Police thought the truck contained a suspect.

Officers followed the truck to West High School’s east entrance, where they attempted a traffic stop near the school’s tennis courts. The 17-year-old got out of the truck and began to run west, holding a handgun, police officials said at a briefing Saturday.

Police said they issued multiple verbal commands for the teen to drop the handgun, which were ignored. Officers had arrived at the scene from an entrance to the west.

One of the officers who had arrived from the west fired several shots, striking the teen at least once in his side/back area and once in his right wrist, hitting the handgun.

The teen was taken to Via Christi Hospital St. Francis. Police said Monday he remained in critical condition, although he is expected to survive.

This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Local coalition calls for Wichita to no longer accept ‘violent, vile’ behavior (+video)."