Hear Councilman, Activist Argue Over Gun Violence Solution

It was another meeting of community leaders on the steps of Shreveport's Government Plaza yesterday, and like so many meetings before, the topic was the epidemic of gun crime that plagues the city.

Attending the Wednesday assembly were representatives from the Shreveport City Council, the city's Fire and Police Departments, various business and religious leaders and Mayor Adrian Perkins.

But the gathering, intended to seek solutions to a tragic problem, turned heated when Councilman Jerry Bowman, when speaking on the recent rash of shootings, noticed a woman in the crowd holding a sign.

The woman, community activist Breka Peoples, held high a sign that said, "We don't believe you," a reference to the seeming failure of the city's upper echelon to make a dent in the number of shootings.

And it was then that the conversation between the two - Peoples from the audience, Bowman from the dais - became heated.

"I see somebody with a sign that says 'We don't believe you.'" Bowman says from the dais, "I believe it. and I believe in us, here."

But then Peoples interrupts with a repeated call of, "I don't!"

After asking "May I continue" a number of times, Peoples then shouted back, "We need new leadership."

Their shouting continued as each accused the other of being "part of the problem." Then Peoples made several long and loud references to Bowman and his family, the second term councilman left the dais.

Here's the audio from Wednesday's rather loud and heated dialogue between Shreveport Councilman Jerry Bowman and community activist Breka Peoples.