PINE BLUFF - In the frigid, early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day, a 3-year old girl roamed the dirty parking lot of a Pine Bluff apartment complex alone.
She was searching for someone to comfort her.
Dressed for bed - not 20-degree weather - the toddler quietly walked out of her father’s apartment after police say a man shot and killed him, leaving the door slightly ajar.
The girl was found a short time later by a neighbor, who warmed and consoled her. The child had witnessed the entire slaying, police said.
Shortly after arriving, officers found Dametrick McDaniel’s body lying in a pool of blood inside his apartment.
McDaniel, 25, died of a shotgun blast in his chest, police said.
Rashune Raglon, 25, has been charged with capital murder in connection with McDaniel’s death, but that’s little consolation for McDaniel’s family members, who say their world ended on that cold November morning.
McDaniel’s mother, sister and the mother of the 3-year old girl spoke last week at an anti-violence event organized by local pastors and the Pine Bluff Police Department. The event was designed to raise awareness of violent crime and the need to address it.
The pastors, who plan to meet regularly, call their group the Church Outreach Committee. Their unofficial slogan is straight to the point: “We are tired of leading from behind. It’s time to take a stand, lead and speak out against violence.”
The Rev. Kerry Price, pastor of the Bread of Life Church in Pine Bluff, led the meeting, which was attended by Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth, Pine Bluff Police Chief Jeff Hubanks, Pine Bluff Alderman Steven Mays, as well as a dozen local pastors and community leaders.
Marquiza Bullard couldn’t stop her tears when she spoke about the violence that took the life of her child’s father.
“I lost my baby’s daddy …for no reason at all,” Bullard said as Price, standing beside her, embraced the small-framed woman with one arm.
Pastors, political leaders and others in Pine Bluff have spoken out about crime before. But slayings like the one that took McDaniel’s life seem to touch everyone’s heart, because they show the effect violent crime has on families, especially children.
Price said the city cannot “let a few thugs rule,” vowing that “it’s not going to happen anymore. We are leaders in this city under God. I am willing and ready to go. I know the road will be hard, but we want to let criminals know we are united as an army for God.”
Price, along with other ministers and Pine Bluff police officers, helped lead a successful effort earlier this year to reduce crime in an area between 23rd Avenue and Cherry and Olive streets.
They canvassed the neighborhood, asking homeowners and tenants to report crime or suspicious activity as soon as they saw it.
Price said the goal is to shift that momentum into other neighborhoods across the city.
Hubanks called such efforts “invaluable” to his department’s fight against crime.
“We are fully developed to interact with the public with what’s known as problem-oriented policing,” Hubanks said. “There are lots of problems and situations that cannot be solved by the Police Department alone. It takes everyone - citizens, City Council - everyone.”
According to data from the Pine Bluff Police Department, violent crime is down more than 17 percent this year.
Homicides are down 25 percent, from 16 in 2012 to 12 in 2013. Aggravated assaults are down more than 11 percent, from 414 in 2012 to 365 in 2013.
Robberies, rapes and attempted rapes are up, however.
Pine Bluff had 64 rapes or attempted rapes in 2013, compared with 41 in 2012. Robberies increased more than 7 percent, from 128 in 2012 to 137 in 2013.
A rash of recent robberies at convenience and discount stores prompted Pine Bluff police to hold stakeouts at various locations throughout the city.
One such stakeout Dec. 6 thwarted a robbery attempt at a Family Dollar store. Police shot 23-year-old Samuel Freeman after they say he pointed a gun at officers outside the store.
Freeman later died.
Hollingsworth said the number of young men in their 20s who are committing such crimes is too high, and that “we have missed a mark as a city. We have to be there for our children and hold ourselves accountable. These young men could have had wonderful lives before them.”
The mayor stood side by side with pastors and police officers who participated in the neighborhood canvassing in the Cherry Street area earlier this year, saying “weas citizens have got to rise to the cause and say that this is a new dawn in our city.
“We are taking back our neighborhoods and our streets. We are going to do that one neighborhood at a time and one street at a time.”
Hollingsworth also condemned McDaniel’s slaying and offered condolences to his family and other crime victims at the anti-violence rally last week.
“As a community, we have to come together and be outraged at what is going on here,” the mayor said. “A 3-year-old is going from apartment to apartment to find help after her father is killed. That is unacceptable, and everyone in our city should feel the same way.”
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/23/2013