New CMPD units hit streets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- More police officers are hitting the streets this weekend in Charlotte to tackle crime. It's part of Chief Rodney Monroe's new plan of attack.

Monroe has created a new unit called the Assault with a Deadly Weapon unit.

"There are too many people with too many guns," said Capt. Paul Zinkhan with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Those guns create harm and spread fear, but now those who are behind that violence will have the ADW unit tracking them down.

"It's been kind of hectic, but we've got it worked out. The captains, the sergeants getting us everything we need so we can get ready to roll on Saturday," said Kim Brewinton, who was reassigned from the family services division to join the ADW unit.

"We're able to help the community," Brewinton said. "That's what we really want to do. We did that with children and we're going to do that with adults, and that's our main focus."

The focus of the ADW unit will be to look at all shootings that do not result in death. Many of those cases used to be handled by patrol.

Officers believe the change will raise the profile of those suspects and create more urgency in taking them off the streets before they kill someone.

"How the gun came into play, who had the gun, why it was used, how it was used and on any of those arenas either state or federal, we're going to seek to prosecute any individual that used a firearm in this city," Zinkhan said.