Savannah mayor: After City Market shooting, curfews, other safety measures on the table

Following another violent weekend including a shooting in Savannah's City Market, which injured multiple people early Sunday morning, the City of Savannah may consider curfews and other measures in an effort to curb gun violence downtown.

Tuesday, during his weekly press conference, Mayor Van Johnson said while the city can't control the number of guns available, they can control street closures, alcohol licenses and curfews.

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"We will be having some courageous conversations with our business and tourism partners to figure out how, in light of the laws that we have to operate under, how we can fix this," he said.

"To be honest, we cannot control the number of guns in our city, but we can control the hours and the activities of our nightlife downtown. And if I have to institute curfews and limit crowds to reduce the potential of shooting incidents, then I am willing to consider that."

The shooting happened around 1 a.m. Sunday morning and injured three people, all between the ages of 20-23.  A male victim suffered serious injuries but was in stable condition. The other victims – one man and one woman – suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to the Savannah Police Department (SPD).

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Johnson said he and SPD Chief Roy Minter were on scene shortly after the incident. The duo had touched down from a weeklong U.S. Department of State sponsored trip to Germany just after the shooting occurred.

"We know that our downtown areas are huge gathering places and what struck me the most returning from Germany and going to City Market, was the people, the sheer number of people that were there," he said

Johnson said that the notion that some people may pull a gun at the sound of gunshots is an ongoing concern and while implementing curfews and other measures might be premature, everything is on the table.

"At the end of the day, if we're going to be blamed for it, we're going to do what needs to be done, so if that means issuing a curfew, curtailing hours, then that's what we're going to have to do," he said.

"To me, it's not worth somebody's life, and I had the chance to talk to dozens of individuals that were in that area and witnesses what happened, and the pandemonium that occurred and the fact of the matter is, we have to figure out a way to control that."

Officer involved shooting

Just days prior to the City Market shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was called in to investigate a police-involved shooting at the intersection of Gwinnett and Magazine streets in West Savannah.

According to the GBI's preliminary report, at about 11:50 a.m. on Friday, Savannah police officers were patrolling an area near Gwinnett and Crosby Streets when they noticed a person, later identified as Saudi Arai Lee, 31, walking in the middle of the street.

The officers approached Lee to speak with him. That's when Lee immediately showed his wallet saying it contained his weapons permit, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a news release.

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"Lee lifted his shirt and pulled a weapon from a holster. A short chase ensued, and Lee was shot by an officer," Miles said.

In a Facebook video that captured the aftermath of the shooting, which has since been removed, commenters could be heard saying the victim had a gun but did not point it at any of the officers.

The incident was the fifth officer-involved shooting in Savannah this year and Johnson said the uptick in officer-involved shootings continue to be a concern.

"It was understandable, certainly, why the Carver Village community and the city at large would be outraged and be concerned about why this happens again, because (SPD Police Chief Roy Minter) and I ask ourselves the same question," he said.

"More importantly, what conditions existed at the time that would put a police officer in the situation where they believed that they had to use deadly force, again? And so these are questions that we've been asking ourselves, as you know, from the beginning of the year."

Less than 24 hours prior, Savannah City Council unanimously approved a contract modification of up to $101,446 with Axon Plus, which will enhance the Savannah Police Department's body worn cameras (BWC) by adding GPS location services and the ability to view BWC’s live from remote locations.

Johnson said the upgrades will only further enhance the public safety services.

"I think it’s important as we continue to talk about policing to use the opportunity to make sure that our officers have the most up-to-date technology available and so we are doing that," he said.

According to city documents, the ability to view BWC’s that are in record mode from remote locations will allow supervisors to maintain situational awareness and supervise officers’ actions. Additionally, once taser batteries are upgraded, supervisors will receive alerts whenever a taser is activated/deployed, providing immediate notification.

According to SPD spokesperson, Bianca Johnson, the upgrades will be rolled out to all department-issued devices and the department is working with Axon on an exact timeline, but believe it could be completed in the next 30 or so days.

Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah to consider curfews after City Market shootings