Pastors Join Plan to Get Guns Off Streets

Local clergy say their plan will work because of respect

More than 30 pastors and clergy are taking aim at Miami inner city crime, hoping to get guns out of the wrong hands before they're used to hurt someone.

They're training with City of Miami police officers to do it, but the "Preachers, Parents and Police" program starts with parents.

"When they have guns in their homes, they will in turn call the pastors," said organizer Carl Johnson, pastor of the 93rd Street Community Missionary Baptist Church at a Wednesday news conference. "We will in turn call these police officers and they will go without offense in a positive way to retrieve the guns."

And it doesn't end there. Pastor Johnson says then clergy will connect the gun carrier with a positive social program to help him avoid a future in prison. Johnson says the clergy partnership with parents and police will be effective because people respect pastors.

Johnson and others have been working on the plan with last July, riding on patrols with officers to understand what police face. Johnson wants to target crime in the black community, noting 38 black homicides since last July.

In the same time period, City of Miami police have shot and killed seven black men. Johnson says the new joint effort is a step in reconciliation and forgiveness over that.

He said he trusted Police Chief Miguel Exposito to properly investigate those shootings, and discipline officers if necessary. "I have to walk with a man like Chief Exposito, because he walked the streets with me," said Johnson.

But Johnson would not comment on whether there's still an effort in the African-American community to oust Exposito.

To that, the chief himself stressed: "There are individuals who wanna get me out, but we have tremendous support in the black community."

Follow Julia Bagg on Twitter at @juliabagg.

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