Here’s snippets of what people said and did at the Gulfport City Council meeting.
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About Alleged Police Brutality at Boca Ciega High School
“I was called here for an injustice. … I can see that there has been a decades-long history of racial injustice and disparities here in Gulfport, Florida. … Take into consideration what happened that day when 15-year-old Maniya Sherriffe was a victim herself by being bullied by six girls and then being victimized by one of your officers. How would you feel if it was one of your children, one of your grandchildren, being victimized by an officer – brutally beaten by this officer? … I’ve come to say there is a new sheriff in town, and we will not rest until we get justice and answers for the community.” –Bryce Graham of the National Action Network
“I don’t know what happened, but the main thing is that my granddaughter was not safe. She was scared of people that were there to protect her. All I want is answers. I want to know how an officer can do that and it just get shunned by the wayside. My granddaughter is scared, I haven’t seen her smile, she is not coming back to school because she is afraid of the people who are there to protect her. They are not protecting her, they didn’t that day. I just want answers.” –a man who identified himself as Maniya Sherriffe’s grandfather
“As you’ve noticed, a lot of us have been in front of your panel for quite some time complaining about exactly the same thing over and over again – racial discrimination. You’re acting like since I moved into town I was the only one complaining about it, but we’ve had multiple people complain about this for decades before I ever landed in your town, and still nothing. … So how many more times must we continue to keep asking for your help? You seem to open up a workshop for everything else, but not one time have you afforded any of us a sit-down, but you utilize and send your police force and weaponize them to come after us. So when do you plan to stop it? Do we have to continue going through the same thing over and over again?” –Jesse Lee
“I’m just repeating exactly what her husband said. She condoned it.” –Lee, when Mayor Sam Henderson objected to his use of a racial slur (the n* word) in reference to language a councilmember’s husband once used
“I was hoping you wouldn’t blow it. [hits the gavel] You’re done.” –Henderson, to Lee
“You’re violating my constitutional rights.” –Lee
“You have violated decorum. You are a small person and you have killed your credibility here.” –Henderson
“What are you touching me for? This is my constitutional right.” –Lee, when police chief Robert Vincent tapped him on the arm and told him to leave
“Violating the decorum of this room multiple times. Apologies to all.” –Henderson
“We take you very seriously, that’s for sure. To the comments relating to the past of Gulfport, it’s a past like a lot of towns in the South and throughout America. There are scars on us. But those days are gone, and we are not the city that we once were. I want to tell you that this investigation, because it involves the school board property, it involves a minor, and it involves the jurisdiction of our police, we can’t say anything about it while the investigation is underway. But once that is all done, it will be public record and it will be transparent. I encourage you to speak with the police and work through this, and if your daughter has it in her to have that conversation, I hope that she will. But none of us up here are taking it lightly. That is what I want to leave you with. I do hear you.” –Henderson at the end of public comment
During Council Comments & Reports
“We are in the middle of hurricane season. If you don’t have a plan, you absolutely should have a plan. In lieu of going to a shelter, because we know what the shelters can be like, find a friend in the Tyrone area where you can take your animal with you. It’s high there and you can take your pet. Go roam the streets of Tyrone and find a friend because you don’t want to go to a shelter.” –Vice Mayor Christine Brown
“You have probably seen them all over the place for the last few weeks, but Duke is doing the power pole replacement. So drive with a little extra care. You might go around a corner that you were around 15 minutes ago and now there’s cones and a couple of people sitting by the pickup truck. Be careful as you drive throughout the city.” –Henderson
“When you are walking your pets, remember that we have cane toads here. When a dog or cat licks them or bites them or something like that, it’s a pretty potent poison. If you see a big fat toad when you’re walking your dog, or if you see one in your yard, shoo it away or dispatch it if you feel the need. I had a neighbor lose a pet recently from that.” –Henderson
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