BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- It has been nine days since a mass shooting killed four and left 17 others with gunshot wounds in Birmingham’s Five Points South entertainment district.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin promised to provide additional police manpower to the city’s entertainment districts a week ago. Some of the businesses CBS 42 spoke with say they noticed many officers in the days following the shooting, but nine days later, they say they aren’t seeing as many police officers as they would like.
“I haven’t seen anything more, in fact probably a little less,” remarked Amy Mitchell, the General Manager of the Original Pancake House.
Mitchell says she wants to see a larger police presence in Five Points South.
“You know for me it's about perception I understand that the police force is down but perception is put a car here, put a car there and move it around. You don't know if someone's in the car or if an officer is patrolling the street but it's still a deterrent,” remarked Mitchell.
CBS 42 spent two hours Saturday, an hour Sunday, and two hours Monday in Five Points South, in that time our news crew only saw one police officer drive through the area.
Ace Graham, the owner of Alchemy, says he has been fighting to get more police to the area for five years.
“I can honestly say we have seen a police presence, obviously it's not what anyone wants it to be, but that is just the way the police fall with city numbers,” remarked Graham.
Graham says he is happy with the number of police he has seen since the shooting.
“I think that five points is a safe place in general. I think that we had an unfortunate incident and isolated incident in five points, and it doesn't define with five points is or the people that occupy five points,” remarked Graham.
On Monday, an officer at the Birmingham Police Departments South Precinct told CBS 42 the department reinstated a Five Points South task force Monday morning, he says officers are being encouraged to sign up to patrol the area. CBS 42 is working to find more information on what the task force will look like.