St. Petersburg, Florida riots of 1996

St. Petersburg, Florida riots of 1996
Date	First Wave: October 25, 1996 – October 26, 1996 Second Wave: November 13, 1996 – November 14, 1996
Location	St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
Caused by	First Wave: Shooting of Tyron Lewis Second Wave: Jim Knight not indicted
Methods	Arson, looting, rioting, gunfire
Status	Ended
Casualties
Injuries	11+
Arrested	20+

Riots occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1996 following the shooting and death of an unarmed African American male teenage motorist during a police traffic stop.

Two white police officers, Jim Knight and Sandra Minor, saw the gold sports car speeding on 18th Avenue S, on October 24, 1996. Knight, who was driving, flipped on the police car’s emergency lights and stopped the car near the intersection at 16th Street.

In court documents, Knight says he told the driver, 18-year-old Tyron Lewis, to turn off the car’s engine and show his hands. Instead, Knight says, Lewis bumped him at least six times with the car. Witnesses would later say Lewis’ car rolled at the speed of a baby’s crawl. Lewis’ passenger, Eugene Young, who was not shot, recalled Lewis saying: “Please don’t shoot, please don’t shoot, I ain’t even got nothing!” Knight told his partner to smash the car’s windows with her baton. As she did, Knight says Lewis attempted to turn the car. Knight was knocked onto the gold hood. He fired his Glock semiautomatic pistol three times, hitting Lewis twice in the arm and once in the chest. He died at the scene.

During the investigation immediately following this event, a large crowd had gathered and became agitated due to the police department not sharing information and a number of witnesses describing events. The situation quickly got out of hand and the crowd began throwing rocks, bottles, and other items at police officers.

Police officers received reinforcements from other local agencies and off-duty St. Petersburg Police officers. As officers and Sheriff deputies shot tear gas into the crowd and dispersed the initial crowd at 16th Street and 18th Avenue South, a number of individuals continued rioting through the area of St. Petersburg known as Midtown. 705th Military Police Company, Florida National Guard was activated and arrived at the riots to assist local police officers.

At least 20 people were arrested and 28 arson fires were confirmed as groups of youths ran back and forth throughout the night, throwing rocks, bricks and bottles at officers in riot gear, businesses and passing cars. At least 11 people were injured, including a police officer who was shot and a newspaper photographer who was beaten, as hundreds of people swarmed through the streets after the shooting on October 24. Stores were looted and thick smoke clouded the neighborhood just south of downtown.

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Wikipedia