In 2017 Evansville had a record number of murders. Evansville Police have released a statement regarding the number of murders, and have a statement for drug dealers.

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Today EPD released a statement, here's what they have to say:

It’s not just about the weed, it’s about the violence.

In 2017, we had a record number of murders. We had 20 people killed, 15 by gunfire.
We had over 60 people shot.
The response from the community to the Evansville Police Department was “Stop the murders. Stop the violence. Save our kids. Protect our city.” 
To meet those demands, we had to look at what the circumstances where that surrounded the violence. We know for a fact that multiple people were murdered during drug deals gone bad. We also know that multiple people were murdered over marijuana.
That’s because the violence is not about marijuana. It’s not about meth. It’s not about heroine. It’s about MONEY.
The people involved in the sell of drugs are setting the stage for acts of violence that impact the quality of life for EVERYONE. When a murder happens during a marijuana drug deal, people don’t mention the marijuana. They talk about how that act of violence makes them too scared to bring their families to Green River Rd. They talk about the violence making this city a bad place to raise a family. They talk about how this isn’t the Evansville they grew up in.
We DO NOT care what drugs are being sold! We care that the drug dealers are creating an environment where law abiding people are being held captive by the violence that accompanies the drug trade.
There is no debate about which drugs we are going after because the violence does not differentiate either.
If you deal drugs, you are a part of the violence that people have demanded we aggressively address. We will not pass you over because “it’s just marijuana.” We will not let it slide because “it’s just a plant.”
We are committed to reducing the violence. We are committed to improving the quality of life for our residents. We are committed to addressing the root causes of violence- All of them.

 

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