Saturday’s urban youth rampage on the Plaza left little doubt that some serious preventative counter measures by police and Highwoods Properties would be forthcoming.
This just in: they already are and they already were.
Kansas City police met with Plaza officials last week to map a strategy for dealing with the hundreds of mostly African-American youth that spilled onto the streets two weeks ago from the Cinemark theater.
Cinemark ditched it’s kids restrictions policy last year, then slashed ticket prices in December to become something of a discount theater.
Prior to implementing the strategies, streets outside Cinemark had become overrun by unruly kids on weekend nights.
Highwoods and police met last week to try and quell the Cinemark debacle, says police spokesman Darin Snapp.
However last weekend’s trashing of the entire Plaza went above and beyond the malevolent moviegoers.
So it’s back to the drawing board for the Plaza and police
“Yes, we’re actually getting together with them to put something together,” Snapp says.
Now if they can just conjure a way to thwart those pesky Twitter messages that called to arms as many as 1,000 rampaging inner city youths.
Just so happens a police official recently returned from an instructional conference with training on how to intercept the tweets so police can act ultra fast.
“So yes, there is a way to do it, but it takes a lot of time to search through (the tweets) and look for certain patterns of teens tweeting,” Snapp says. “Because we’d love to know what they’re going to do next. And we definitely don’t think it’s going to stop, so we’ll have officers in place next weekend. Just in case.”
JAM
Black youth have enriched their negative branding by their recent “riots.”
Don’t expect much respect in the future. Young blacks may have ruined another opportunity for acceptance.
Does anyone wonder now why there shouldn’t be a dress code for the Power and LIght District?
jojo
Hearnes tweets from saturday nite
7:30 pm: took shower. Tony and I are expecting
a major event on the plaza. After that we’re
headed to Bazookas.
7:31pm; Go out of shower. Used arid extra dry.
With the expected event on the plaza need
extra protection.
7:41 pm: Tony picked me up in his low rider.
We went to winsteads. Had double with ketchup
and pickle and a frosty.
7:52pm: Tony saw a mexican driving a chevy down
48th street. Knew trouble was brewing. Saw
chevy turn right to head to rudys tacqueria.
8:43pm: went to movie. Saw Brokeback Mountain
at $1.00 threatre with tony.
9:23pm: went to new burger joint. Ate $15
hamburger and $20 dollar glass of wine…spent
entire allowance for week.
9:34pm: walked down street. Tony mentio9ned that
there vwere no hispanics on the plaza. Said it
must be the security patrol ticketing all
chevy’s.
10:00pm: stood at cab stand waiting for
taxi to get to bazookas with tony. Tony only
had $1.50 and I had $30. Neded $1.00 bills for
lap dance so crossed street to get single bills.
10:23pm: Heard chants of “yes we can”. It was
loud. Didn’t pay attention to it but knew
something was happening.
10:26pm: Heard singing of “we shall overcome”…
sounded like my church choir.
10:27pm: Heard screaming. Saw smoke…thought
maybe the crap in brush creek caught on fire.
10:28pm: heard more screaming. Police sirens
were loud.
10:30: observed large number of young black
kids running down 48th street. Thought maybe
the trolley run had started early but realized
it wasn’t til the 24th.
10:32: Tony and I observed young white kids
celebrating prom night outside cheesecake
factory. They were coughing and holding
white table napkins against their mouth
with tears running down their cheeks.
I remember my first prom in 1963…and how
emotional that special night was for me.
10:33pm: Tony yells “race riot…race riot”
and police are lobbing tear gas onto 48th street
while store owners are screaming.
10:40pm Thousands of african american youths
are runing thru the plaza. Police with riot
gear have blocked off the plaza.
10:44: erntire plaza engulfed in pepper spray.
Shoppers with gifts from HALLS and Brooks
Brothers scamper to have a glass of wine
at capital grille.
10:50: I report multiple times about this
incident. Call my friends up who all just
“happen” rto be onthe plaza at the same
time as the riot for first hand reports.
11pm” Tony and I arrive at bazookas. Get
2 lap dances then head home.
Brian
jojo,
I am in tears and it is not from pepper spray. It is from laughing my ass off.
KC Jay
I remember when they infested Westport a few years ago, the cops/merchants put up giant loud speakers and blasted redneck country music to try to get them to leave. Don’t remember if it helped but it was hilarious.
DonkeyPunch
JOJO, you sir are still a tool, but that was quasi funny. Well done, sir.
Brraaapp
Jojo killing it! This still doesn’t make up for all the other garbage you post but that was funny.
Me
Jojo: that’s your best. post. ever.
if you could just use that enter key a bit more often to create paragraphs, shorter and more concise sentences to get your points across like this in other posts, I might be able to read them.
Thanks for leaving out Glaser and the activities in the back seat or ‘upstairs’ at Bazookas.
Sally O’Reilly
From KCCOnfidential writer Tony Botello (parentheses mine):
“There is currently a media feeding frenzy over so many inconsequential anecdotes related to THE SATURDAY NIGHT BLACK TEEN PLAZA RIOT. Once again, it’s disappointing to see everyone miss the point.
Because of (sic) there is little diversity in local media and because TKC is one of the few people of color in Kansas City that doesn’t have to answer to a white dude (except Hearne) in regard to my writing . . . The essential element in this story isn’t lost on me:
KANSAS CITY’S MOSTLY WHITE MEDIA ONLY CARES ABOUT TEENAGE BLACK VIOLENCE WHEN IT CROSSES TROOST!!!”
Pretty funny to read this and then look at how much attention it’s received on kccomfidential and Tony’s blog. Remember, kids, it’s only not-racist when it’s coming from Tony!
C
Do black people consider Hispanics “people of color”? Or does anyone else, for that matter? And does either race REALLY want Tony speaking for them?? No, no, and no.
correction
Was that head for home or got head at home. Tony?
Ole Jack Harry
Well hello folks! I’m about to lay some major Jack Smack on ya!
I’ll tell you right now, there is only one explanation for all this hullabaloo on the Plaza. Not it’s not that son of a bitch Lezak and his damn dogs this time….no folks it’s our old friend Carl Peterson.
I have exclusive sources that ole King Carl is to blame for the ticket price fiasco at the Plaza Movie theater. He suggested lowering ticket prices to make up for all the years he raised them at One Arrowhead Drive.
My sources confirm that Carl Peterson single handidly organized this flash mob on the plaza. The word on the street is that Carl secretly missed bringing ruckus to the Plaza…after all folks he is responsible for many plaza incidents in the past. He is the guy responsible for Dale Carter, Andre Rison, and Larry Johnson. Those guys make the junior class of Wesport high school look like Blue Valley North junior class. ha hahaha hahahahahah!!!
I was tellng my ole buddy Kietz today about a time I was golfing with Norm Stewart. We were out golfing and Norm is about 15 feet off the green and next thing you know…..
Wait what the hell were we talking about? Oh that’s right that S.O.B Carl Peterson!!!!!
Gotta run folks me, Kietz, and Ole Clinkscale got a tee time at Falcon Ridge and then a rousing night of pin the tail on Leatherface Jessica!
Thanks folks….tune in to KSHB Lezak 41 at 6 and 10 tonight for more on this developing story!!!!
Ready
It might get better this weekend.
Break out your video cameras and come on down for the fun.
There will be “other” gangs to counter-act last weeks gangs. If these kids think their BS is funny, wait until they get look at what is coming from the other direction.
Rainbow Man
Nice work JoJo. That post goes into the KC Confidential Hall of Fame. I am glad Hearne and Tony are good sports about it. The Red Star would have blocked JoJo long ago.
Guy
I play in a couple of bands around town and one of them will be playing down at o’dowds this sat. night. We were down there two weeks ago, when alot of this sh*t started.
I drove around the block, by the movies at about 9 and there were no less than 200 YOUNG black kids just hanging out. They weren’t buying movie tickets or anything from the other stores….just hanging out. I knew there would be problems. Sure enough on our first set break, the police heli is flying around and there is a huge mob with fights on the corner just up from us. We watched until we had to start back up, but then came back out on the next break to find KCPD with guns drawn on some hood rats in a lincoln town car, directly across the street from us. The pulled a couple guns and some drugs out of it.
It was cheap entertainment for us, but it won’t be so cheap when the little bastards start letting the bullets fly. I have a concealed carry permit, but don’t normally have a firearm with me, but this is making me have second thoughts…..and for THE PLAZA of all places…..geez. This will definitely hurt business down there!