Charlotte councilman wants crime task force to stop ‘bad trajectory’ after NYE shooting

A Charlotte City Council member wants a new task force focused on crime in the wake of a shooting that left several people injured in uptown on New Year’s Eve.

Councilman Tariq Bokhari, who announced his plans on social media Tuesday, told the Charlotte Observer it’s a plan he’s considered for a while to bring together “different people with different tools” to “hone in on” specific public safety issues, especially among young people and repeat offenders. Key points, he said, include delving into crime statistics and developing policies that can reduce recidivism.

He was driven to put the plan in motion by the “bad trajectory of stories that we’re seeing,” the District 6 Republican added. And he’s got support from at least one other council member.

Tuesday’s announcement came after a 19-year-old was arrested in connection with a New Year’s Eve shooting at uptown’s Romare Bearden Park that left five people injured. The alleged shooter was taken into custody at the scene, and all of the injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

Bokhari described the shooting as “a broader piece” of the issues facing Charlotte’s central business district.

“It’s in very, very bad shape,” he said. “I would say it’s nearly on life support. And this is just one more nail in the coffin, and we can no longer stand on the sidelines here.”

Bokhari said Tuesday afternoon he’s received a commitment from the Mecklenburg County district attorney to participate in the task force. He envisions the full group including the Mecklenburg County sheriff, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police leadership, representatives from the judicial system and Charlotte’s city attorney and city manager.

He’s also hoping to partner with North Carolina legislators.

“There’s some laws we might need where we can create the ordinances. Some we may need help from the General Assembly,” he said.

What would crime task force do?

Bokhari said he was inspired to take this approach by his experience helping a District 6 neighborhood create a team to address a house that had become a public safety threat — an approach he said helped create new resources and ideas.

He says the new task force structure would help leaders with “focusing on one common goal to the end.”

To start, Bokhari said, he wants the group dive into crime statistics, especially splitting up youth offenders from adults and looking into repeat offenders.

“It’s my hunch based on the anecdotal data I’ve seen that there’s a small subset of people committing the vast number of crimes,” he said.

From there, he envisions the task force working to figure out what policies, local ordinances and state laws can be put in place to reduce recidivism and change behaviors.

Bokhari said he’s hopeful about his chances of building a coalition behind the task force plan because crime is something so many in the community “want to solve this badly.”

“The important thing for me on this one is to help light the fire, but make sure it’s an effort in partnership amongst the entire City Council. This isn’t a partisan thing,” he said. “I’ve heard from my colleagues before, and I know this is important to them.”

Fellow Councilman Malcolm Graham, a Democrat whose District 2 includes Romare Bearden Park, said Tuesday leaders have known for a while they needed to “take some proactive steps forward” on public safety and that the New Year’s Eve’s shooting “makes that more urgent.”

“I’m supportive of getting people together, talking about how we solve problems,” he said of Bokhari’s proposal.

If a task force were to come together, Graham said he’d like to see faith leaders, business owners, nonprofits and more also involved.

“A wide variety of people should be involved because the response should be a response from the community,” he said.

In a statement Tuesday, Charlotte Center City Partners said the city “must do better as a community” after the New Year’s Eve shooting.

“As always, we will continue to work closely with our partners at CMPD to plan for, and produce, safe gatherings,” the statement said.

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