Crockett police report: January activity, block-party shooting prompts talk of block-party permitting; racial-profiling data published

Crockett police on Feb. 3 presented the department's manpower and criminal activity report for January 2025 and the annual racial profiling report for 2024. Police also described a recent robbery at a large block-style party and said they will seek a local ordinance to regulate such events.

The police presenter reported the department had 16 officers who worked a total of 2,584 manpower hours in January, responded to 382 calls for service, investigated 16 traffic accidents and made 57 arrests. The presenter said officers stopped 396 motor vehicles during the month. The department invited questions after the summary.

Chief Smith (identified later in the meeting as the police chief) told council that during a recent large informal gathering a pair of armed suspects wearing ski masks entered the event and robbed attendees, taking about $8,000. No serious injuries were reported, and detectives continue an active investigation; suspects had not been apprehended at the time of the meeting.

"They went in with guns and ski masks, and they robbed everybody at that party," Chief Smith said as he summarized the incident and then urged discussion of a possible block-party permitting ordinance to give the city a contact and control mechanism for very large outdoor gatherings.

On the racial profiling report, the department provided a breakdown by race and by stop location. The presentation listed race-known totals (as reported to council) as: African American 898; Asian/Pacific Islander 80; White 2,216; Hispanic 641; Native American 13. The report's overall total of stops was reported as 3,848 for the period. The department said many stops occurred on state highway corridors passing through the city, which explains a higher share of state-highway stops in the data.

Councilmembers praised the clearer layout of the profiling report and said they would follow up with questions about stop locations and patterns. The chief said officers receive training on identifying a driver's race prior to a stop in certain lawful circumstances and that the department documents those instances in the report.

Council asked staff to bring a proposed block-party permitting ordinance to a future agenda so members can weigh regulations that would allow contacts, capacity limits and permitting without unduly restricting private gatherings.