Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Vivian Burke, a Winston-Salem City Council member, vowed to respond to community concerns about police conduct in the investigation that led to the arrest and imprisonment of Darryl Hunt.
Hunt was convicted twice in the 1984 killing of Deborah Sykes, a newspaper copy editor. Police recently charged another man, Willard E. Brown, with rape, murder and kidnapping in the case. Court documents say that he confessed to acting alone in the attack on Sykes. A hearing scheduled for Feb. 6 will determine whether Hunt will be exonerated.
"I want to let them (the people) know that we are generally concerned about what happens in this community," Burke said during a meeting of the city council last night.
Burke is the chairwoman of the city council's public-safety committee. That committee plans to review the police department's policies and procedures that were in place when Hunt was arrested and compare them with the department's present policies.
Mayor Allen Joines said he hopes that a review will help rebuild the community's trust in the existing police department.
In addition, Joines is forming a committee to explore whether a series of community forums could help people come to terms and perhaps learn from the case, which caused racial divisions in the city.
Joines also said he wants young people to be involved. He suggested that the case could possibly be used in education programs in the community.
The committee is expected to meet the week of Jan. 29, Joines said.
In other business last night the council voted unanimously to forward the Happy Hill Redevelopment Area Plan to the City-County Planning Board for its consideration.
The plan incorporates several efforts to revitalize Happy Hill, the city's oldest black neighborhood.
• Victoria Cherrie can be reached at 727-7283 or at vcherrie@wsjournal.com