Raleigh debates curfew as police chief decries 'unruly' juveniles
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce is urging city leaders to consider a citywide youth curfew after a July Fourth weekend gathering involving large numbers of teenagers, citing concerns about the number of guns found in the possession of teens.
Boyce shared his experience with the Raleigh City Council on Tuesday, describing what he encountered during the weekend's teen takeover, which stretched from Brier Creek to Glenwood South.
"Unruly, undisciplined, unsupervised juveniles is what we were dealing with," Boyce said.
Boyce said he responded to the scene Saturday night and personally apprehended a teenager who was carrying a gun.
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"I stepped in and engaged with that young man. He quickly realized it was the police. He took off running. I caught him, and guess what he had on him? He had a gun. He looked up at me and said, Officer, don't shoot me," Boyce said.
The chief said Raleigh Police were prepared to manage crowds but were surprised by the number of firearms found among teenagers. He said that observation is a key reason he is advocating for a citywide curfew targeting teens 17 years old and younger.
Councilman Cory Branch said he supports moving forward with a curfew but wants it to include meaningful enforcement measures.
"I do support the curfew in going forward with it, but in supporting the curfew, I'm always big on enforcement," Branch said.
Branch said city leaders are also discussing ways to increase parental accountability.
"We are looking at what we can do to address the parental involvement. As I mentioned in our city council meeting earlier Tuesday that, you know, for schools, there are penalties if kids are not in school," Branch said.
Branch said the city should use all available resources and bring together multiple stakeholders to address the issue. He also suggested expanding supervised recreational opportunities for teenagers through the city's Parks and Recreation Department.
"What can we do to run programs later? Back in the day, we even had midnight basketball that put a lot of people off the streets in a supervised environment," Branch said.
Longtime Raleigh resident Octavia Rainey also weighed in during the discussion, urging council members to include young people in conversations about a proposed citywide curfew.
"Unless you are hearing from them kids, where are you going? These kids are the future of tomorrow. They need to be heard," Rainey said.
Boyce also told city leaders that his department successfully managed a crowd of about 180,000 people a few weeks earlier without incidents. He said that experience demonstrates crowd control is not the department's primary concern.
According to Boyce, the larger issue is the presence of guns in the hands of children and the danger posed by gunfire in the city.
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