Group targets Durham city councilwoman’s home to protest city’s gun violence

Durham police officers responded to a City Council member’s home last month after a handful of people staged a protest there against gun violence.

The Aug. 19 protest at Mayor Pro Tem Jillian Johnson’s house was led by Victoria Peterson, a community activist and past candidate for local office.

The gathering prompted Durham resident Donald Hughes to ask city officials how police became involved, a request that he shared with local media outlets, including The News & Observer. Hughes is also a community activist and the son of former City Council and school board member Jackie Wagstaff.

“I am concerned that while residents are suffering through nearly daily gun violence and in the wake of deadly encounters between law enforcement and the public, you or any member of the council would use your position and authority to dispatch local law enforcement to intimidate or quell lawful demonstrators,” Hughes wrote in a letter to the mayor and City Council.

But both Mayor Steve Schewel and Johnson wrote back, saying neither of them had contacted police.

“As the Mayor has stated, I did not call the police on the night of your inquiry, nor on the two additional nights that Victoria Peterson has staged protests outside my home,” Johnson wrote Hughes in an email.

Johnson has been a leading voice on the council to reduce the size of the police force and shift resources into public-safety alternatives, like having counselors respond to mental health crises.

According to 911 Center spokesperson Crystal Rodriguez, no calls came in Aug. 19 asking that police be sent to Johnson’s home near the city’s West End.

The N&O reviewed the police department’s incident report, which listed the response as a “directed patrol.”

“Technically DPD were not dispatched to [the] location. They were just patrolling, paying close attention to any public safety issues, if any,” Rodriguez explained in an email. “This was self-entered by the officer who was patrolling the area.”

Hughes was not at the protest, but said he watched it via Facebook Live to support other residents.

Peterson, who lives near Alston and Linwood avenues, said she showed up at Johnson’s house with others because she wanted the council member to hear directly from her and others about crime in her neighborhood.

“We don’t want Durham to turn into a baby Chicago or a little New York,” Peterson said in an interview. “We need these officials to do something and address this because I’m the one that hears the gunshots at 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning.”

Shootings in Durham

As of Aug. 14, 158 people had been shot in Durham this year — 26 fatally, according to police data.

The number of people shot was down from 183 as of the same date in 2020, but deaths were up from 20, The N&O has previously reported.

By the same date in 2019, 103 people had been shot, 21 fatally.

Peterson said she other residents will continue to protest around Durham until council members “do something about the rising crime.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 4:54 PM.