DANVILLE — The Danville City Council met for around 2 hours with heated discussion coming from the community and a few council members.
Following the last council meeting, harsh words were said about how community officials, including the police and the council, have responded to recent violence amongst the youth.
Several people in the community spoke during the public comment section.
Jamie Nightlinger with Project Success spoke out about the task force.
“We are working on the prevention. We have support groups in place for the response to provide support to the family,’’ she said. “What we are missing is the intervention street outreach piece. There are people being killed. The people that are killing them are also babies, 17-21, those kids were my students. They need help too, so that they don’t kill people. We need street outreach programs in this town.
“I would love for anybody to come where we can actually come up with intervention practices,” Nightlinger added. “Some people would say that if you don’t help a student by the time they reach fourth grade, there’s no way for them. I won’t tell you who told me that, but the person is here, and they know it. They have also told me that victims are victims because of their own personal life choices.”
She added, “we are not trying to battle with the city at all. We are trying to work together to save these children.”
Alderwoman Tricia Teague commented heavily during items of information portion of the council meeting about comments made in the media, as well as the discussion between council members and the community.
“The truth is, Aniyah Davis and gun violence prevention are the most important topics that should be top of mind,’’ Teague said. “Aniyah Davis was a straight-A, 2024 Danville High School graduate who went on to attend Ball State University. The truth is, Aniyah Davis was a teenager with three very involved parents, Andrea King, Phil, and Yolanda Davis.”
Teague continued with the fatal day Davis was shot.
“And the truth is, on a hot June 21 day, Aniyah Davis let her parents know she was going to Winter Park to have fun with her friends in a water fight, and the painful truth is that that was the last time Aniya Davis’ parents saw her alive,” Teague added, reminding council members her parents have been to every council meeting since, and did not speak publicly until the Sept. 16 meeting.
Teague went on to defend comments made about herself and others following that meeting.
“You know what? I never said. I never said the words police, police department, law enforcement, or any other word or phrase synonymous with police,’’ she said. “I never even used the acronym D-P-D. It wasn’t the police department, because when I was saying we, I was talking about us as the city council.’’
Teague went on to address Mayor Rickey Williams Jr., and he also responded.
“I have since had a chance to listen to it. And multiple times you stated, no one is doing anything, multiple times, and multiple people in the community afterwards, you backpedaled, good,” said Williams, referring to the YouTube audio of the Sept. 16 meeting. “But everyone in this community heard you say multiple times, no one is doing anything.”
Teague suggested the council put a plaque up at Winter Park to memorialize Aniyah Davis.
Alderman Ed Butler also reiterated his comments from the previous month.
“She (Teague) was referring to all of us, not the Danville Police Department. As a community as a whole, there’s nothing being done by certain individuals. We understand that the police department are overworked and underpaid. They do the best job they can,” Butler continued. “She didn’t make reference to that, and whoever told you that needs to examine themselves, because that wasn’t the way we received it. For me, personally, I received it as … let’s start doing a little more in the community, and that’s what I’ve been doing. And I’m sure everybody else has.”
Williams added that the police department perceived the comments to be an attack.
“Yes, and I have and also have some that my name was mentioned in the paper as well, and I still stand on my grounds is that I said in this council that it takes a village,” Butler said. “And when I said it takes a village, it takes all of us, police, the aldermans, it takes the young folk, it takes us all.”
Butler added comments of positivity to the local police following a recent arrest.
“Anything that I could do to help out our police department. We do it, and we’re going to continue to do it to make this city a safer place,” Butler said.
Williams ended the session, following a closed statement, stating there are local community centers.
“I just want to say something, for the record, as someone who led youth development programs, quite honestly, there wouldn’t be many youth development programs in this community if my team and I hadn’t busted our humps to make it happen,” Williams said. “Project Success has done a heck of a job. When I was there, when I started, we had four programs.
“What I’m telling you is our community is doing a lot, particularly Project Success.”
The next task force with Project Success meets on Thursday, Oct. 16 while the next City Council meeting is Oct. 21.
Council also approved the Bresee Bar redevelopment agreement.