Cape Girardeau mayor, police chief address downtown safety concerns after shooting

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., (KBSI) — Cape Girardeau Mayor Robbie Guard and Police Chief Adam Glueck are addressing concerns about downtown safety and police presence following the deadly shooting early Sunday morning.

Guard said he has heard directly from business owners and residents since the shooting and acknowledged the city has more work to do.

“I’m saddened, I’m hurt, I’m frustrated,” Guard said. “Just like those business owners are. Someone lost their life in our town, and the fact that it got to that point…”

Guard has made public safety a priority since taking office in April.

“I think that’s what hurts the most about this is that I thought we were setting a tone and making a couple of strides, and then to have this happen… it’s just not good,” Guard said.

Guard said the city is looking beyond police presence alone to improve downtown.

“I’ll be the first one to say that, you know, we have to get better,” Guard said. “And what the question is always, what does better look like? Better looks like, you know, we have more cameras in down our downtown. We have more lighting where we need lighting.”

Police Chief Adam Glueck said the lack of working cameras complicated the investigation.

“One of the issues that we ran into with this particular investigation were the lack of cameras in that particular area,” Glueck said. “The investigation would have moved a lot quicker had certain businesses had cameras that were in operation, and they did not.”

Glueck said no downtown businesses currently have cameras registered with the police department. He said police plan to work with businesses on cameras, lighting and other safety measures.

Questions about weekend staffing have also circulated online since the shooting.

“So on a typical night, a weekend night, we have anywhere from 8 to 12 officers that are patrolling the city, and we have several of those officers dedicated to the downtown area,” Glueck said.

He said Cape Girardeau police also work with the sheriff’s office, Missouri State Highway Patrol and federal agencies on downtown patrol efforts.

Glueck said officers were already nearby when the shooting happened.

“With this particular incident, we had a very strong presence in the downtown area right before the shooting happened,” Glueck said. “An officer actually drove by within seconds of it happening. And then right after it happened, we had another officer about a half a block away towing a vehicle.”

He said officers immediately moved toward the gunfire and tried to provide lifesaving care to the victims.

Guard said he still considers downtown safe during most of the day and evening but said late-night hours remain a concern.

“Well, I would say that day in and day out, our — the numbers and data do not lie — that our downtown is still a safe place to be at during the day, in the evenings,” Guard said. “There is no question that we cannot turn a blind eye to the thugs that are doing some bad things after 11 o’clock on Fridays and Saturdays.”

Guard said the city is continuing to look at additional public safety measures, including a real-time crime center and more officers.

Glueck said the department is also looking at where safety efforts can be strengthened.

“There are always things we can do better, and there are always things we can look at tightening up on,” Glueck said.

He also encouraged people downtown to stay aware of their surroundings, walk away from confrontations and call police early if a situation begins to escalate.

“So we’re going to continue to meet with city leaders, with businesses to see how we can improve safety,” Glueck said. “And I promise you, we will try to do our part to make the city of Cape Girardeau safer. We all have that goal, and we’re going to do everything we can to do that. Anytime there’s a tragedy, there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered.

Glueck said part of that effort is making sure people still feel comfortable visiting and spending time downtown.

“We want people to come to Cape Girardeau and visit our entertainment centers, our bars, our restaurants, and have a good, safe time,” Glueck said.

Guard said the city will continue pushing for changes.

“We are not going to put up with this,” Guard said. “You cannot come into our community and break the laws, and we’re going to set a tone, and our chief and his staff will set a tone, and this is not going to be tolerated in Cape Girardeau.”

Glueck also defended the department’s response, pointing to officers who moved toward the gunfire and Major Case Squad investigators who, he said, worked “hours and hours and hours” to identify and arrest the person responsible.

He also said he welcomes criticism and suggestions but pushed back on placing responsibility for the shooting on the department.

“I don’t shy away from criticism. I’m open to any suggestions someone may have, but to flat out blame the police department for a tragedy. Unfortunately, that’s easy to do. But the blame should fall solely on the person that pulled that trigger.”