Young people across Bristol have been urged to “value life” after 19-year-old Kairon Sawyers was found guilty of manslaughter for fatally stabbing fellow teen Dontae Davis.
Sawyers, 19, of Ewell Road, Whitchurch, was sentenced to nine years in a young offenders institute at Bristol Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, April 26) for his involvement in the death of 18-year-old Dontae, who died following a stab wound last year. He was also handed a concurrent 12 months for his possession of a bladed article.
During a three week trial, the court heard that the fatal stabbing occurred after a knife fight in an alley between youths from rival groups - the 16s and 24s - at around 6.20pm on October 14. Now some of the city’s key figures have spoken out about the tragic case, and said part of the challenge is changing the mindset of the young people at risk of being in these situations and finding pathways out for them.
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Reverend Dr Dawnecia Palmer AFP OBA - who has been fighting drugs and gang crime in Bristol for 20 years - said her sympathies go out to the family and friends of Dontae Davis. She said: "I am heartbroken that another person has been killed, it is heartbreaking to hear that this is still going on in our streets but we have to keep trying and hope that change will come.
"We are going to claim our streets again so they feel safe again. This breaks my heart but I hope that change will come. I am both relieved that a sentence has been passed, giving the perpetrator time to reflect on his actions, but saddened that another precious innocent life has been lost.
"My message is 'not on our streets, young people leave your weapons behind'."
Rev Palmer said at the moment they are mainly covering Fishponds, Easton, Eastville and Stokes Croft, only going up to Lawrence Hill sometimes. However, she said that after this fatal stabbing they will be going to Lawrence Hill more.
They will be there today (April 27) as well as on Saturday, she continued, also covering Old Market and Easton at the same time. Rev Palmer said that she thinks gang crime is not as bad it was, but that the coronavirus lockdowns have led to a lot of frustration and aggression.
She said that, among other reasons, people are taking knives with them because they are worried about being attacked.
"What I have been doing is reaching out to young people and finding out how they are feeling," she said. "We have to say 'you can not just take a life', we need to say how life is important and to leave your weapons behind.
"Say to your children and grandchildren 'do not take a knife'. The message must go out to value life.
"It is about changing the mindset of young people so they know how valuable life is."
Rev Palmer - who has grandchildren herself - said they are currently trying to recruit more people to join them as summer is coming and that is a dangerous time of the year when there is a lot more vulnerability. However, she said that at the moment they do not have enough patrols and can only go out three days a week, while ideally they would like to be doing five to seven days a week like they did in St Paul's.
She continued: "We need to do as much as we can to make sure people know that somebody is out there and is watching. It does bother me that people are still carrying knives.
"We are going to be going out on the streets more. In St Paul's, we were there all the time, morning, daytime and at night, five to seven days a week. I am very sad to hear this is happening in our city."
Speaking during a press briefing today (April 27), city mayor Marvin Rees said that he knew 18-year-old Dontae Davis, having met him at Easton's Empire Fighting Chance a few years ago. Mr Rees said that Mr Davis had his phone number on a note as they had plans to meet up.
Mr Rees said: "This is a tragedy all round. We have had a young man lose his life, another young man is now going to be in custody for a significant amount of time.
"Families in mourning, a mother losing her son - no parent should face that challenge of losing a child."
The mayor said that they recognise that the situation is complex and that perpetrators can often be victims and perpetrators at the same time.
"This is a city tragedy and one that we are going to have to continue to work together to take on," he continued. "We are in a state of continuous concern because we know there are young people walking around on a daily basis at risk and we know there are parents seeing their children who are at risk and needing restoration, needing pathways out.
"It is a priority for us and a priority for the city."
Mr Rees said that gangs operate all over Bristol and that they don't want to have certain communities stigmatised, adding serious violence happens across the city.
Supt Mark Runacres, Bristol police commander, said he has been working in policing in the Bristol area for 27 years. He said that, over the years, gang crime has primarily been in parts of East Bristol such as Easton and St Pauls, but that in recent years they have noticed this extending to wider parts of the city including adjacent areas such as Lawrence Hill but also South Bristol.
He said that the main gangs in the city are the 16 - whose name refers to the Fishponds area where they operate - and the 24 - whose name comes from operating 24 hours a day and are based around inner city neighbourhoods. The police commander said these groups are well-established.
Supt Runacres said: "We work with partners to try and map out any escalating tensions. When lockdown was eased, there were some concerns that rivalries between young people were extending to South Gloucestershire, with young people wearing certain colours that relate to certain gangs.
"We need to understand the profile of these groups and who is actively involved in criminality and who is just hanging out with friends - who the core members that we are particularly worried about are and then those who are on the periphery and the wider associates."
Supt Runacres said they provide a tailored approach with targeted enforcement to stop offending behaviour, giving the example of when they have intelligence that people are carrying knives. He said that the problems they saw last summer have eased slightly.
Describing gang crime as an issue that has blighted the city for generations, he said their challenge is to ensure young people are engaging in positive options. Supt Runacres said the police has a violence reduction unit which works with young people and that, working with the council, their aim is to engage young people who are at risk or are engaging in this behaviour to help them make better decisions and draw them into positive opportunities.
At times of heightened risk, such as last summer, their aim is to manage down the risk, he said.
"One of the main tensions has been the trial itself, if they think there are scores to settle," Supt Runacres said. "We have some additional officers to provide visibility in the community to make sure there are no associated issues.
"The results from the court and the response from Dontae's mum, our hope is that will assist our efforts to reduce the likelihood of offences being committed but we can not be complacent and we have to make sure we are aware of what is happening on the streets."
Rev Palmer's group is currently recruiting for their "City Safety Patrol" group who anyone can join. You can find out more on their website here.
