Not a good weekend for the City of Winston-Salem.
Just as the city is considering an ordinance designed to crack down on violence in nightclubs, gunfire breaks out after a city-sponsored concert.
‘The Drop’ is literally that —- parents drop their teenagers off at Corpening Plaza for a Friday hip-hop concert.(Many do walk downtown.) The city says teens come downtown anyway for the Fourth Street Jazz series and they would just be roaming the streets afterward if not for The Drop.
I guess I can understand the city’s reasoning that gathering teens in one spot might make more efficient use of the extra cops on the street. Then again, keeping teenagers downtown after 11 pm —when practically nothing good goes on– doesn’t seem like a good idea, either. Maybe the city should gamble that teenagers will just give up and go home when there’s nothing to do after Fourth Street Jazz.
I guess these sort of situations are bound to happen when the city willingly assumes the role of babysitter.
