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Commissioner Reggie Sessions concerned about recent city violence, tries to call emergency meeting

Fort Pierce City Commissioner Reggie Sessions
Posted at 11:59 PM, Feb 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-22 10:22:42-05

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Fort Pierce City Commissioner Reggie Sessions is voicing his concern about recent gun violence in the city.

On Thursday, Sessions had the city attorney sent a memo to commissioners and the mayor, asking them to support and attend an emergency meeting to address his safety concerns.

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Sessions said he could not get enough fellow commissioners on board to meet the quorum required by city rules.

Sessions described his concern over recent shootings in the city in less than a week, leaving four people shot, with two of those succumbing to their injuries.

“Im laying in my bed on Sunday morning around 2 o' clock. Gunshots as if I’m in combat. I walk out the door and I ride around in the neighborhood and I see police officers all over the place,” Sessions said.

“Last night people were killed. Gunshots,” Sessions continued.

Sessions said he wanted to include the Fort Pierce Police chief in the emergency meeting, and said Sheriff Ken Mascara and other safety officials were willing to attend if the meeting was scheduled.

“The city is not able to handle it, so if we can work together with the sheriff’s office and the U.S Attorney’s Office, which is the other two individuals I invited, I was hoping I could bring them together and come up with a plan to address these issues,” Sessions said.

Now, the issue is tabled until a regular commission meeting next month.

“To wait until March 1, 2, 3 or 4 is totally ridiculous. It’s unheard of.”

However, the city manager, police chief, mayor and Commissioner Jeremiah Johnson were in attendance at an annual, pre-planned HOA meeting in the city that they already committed to.

Commissioner Tom Perona is out of town, explaining why they could not secure the emergency meeting.

WPTV reached out to the Fort Pierce Police Department for more information about recent shootings.

Johnson said in a statement that safety is a priority, he is concerned about recent violence and relying on the chief of police to give facts and information when available.