(Mobile, Ala.) At police headquarters, Mobile Police Chief Micheal T. Williams stood before a table filled with pistols, shotguns and automatic weapons.
It is a table set for a banquet of deadly consequences.
"It doesn't matter what caliber it is," he told members of the media. "Every weapon on that table has the potential of taking a life."
But it is potential cut short, says Chief Williams, thanks to a concentrated police effort called Operation I.M.P.A.C.T.
On Monday, the chief and his staff displayed the 129 guns confiscated since last July as a result of Operation Impact, a joint effort of both the narcotic and intelligence units, MCSENT, the Jaguar Unit and Tactical Response team.
And weapons are just part of Impact.
"We will not allow you to stand on the corners and sell drugs," the chief promised. "We will not allow you to stand on corners and loiter for the purpose of drug activity or prostitution or drinking in public. We are going to clean up the streets in Mobile."
According to the department, since July, Operation Impact has lead to nearly 21 hundred arrests resulting in more than three thousand misdemeanors, and more than 800 felonies.
That point was made with a video featuring the mug shots of some of those caught in the department's web, a web Mayor Sam Jones says wouldn't have happened without dollars from the recently renewed penny sales tax increase.
"It requires some overtime," he said. "Not all overtime, but some overtime. Some of our guys are out 2, 3 or 4 in the morning."
Chief Williams wanted to show the public this display, but said he's really focusing on those who break the law.
"I want our criminal element to know that if we have not made contact with you within the first six months," he said, "don't relax, because we're coming for you."
