CALM AFTER FLORIDA RIOTING MASKS UNDERLYING WOES.

Byline: Twila Decker and Tom Leithauser The Orlando Sentinel 

The scent of smoldering buildings hovered over this coastal city Friday.

It served as a reminder of the looting, beatings and burnings the night before and as a subtle threat of what could still come.

Speaking at the local fire station, city officials urged calm and patience as state officials investigate the incident that triggered the riot - the shooting of an 18-year-old African-American motorist by a white police officer.

But at the same time, a few blocks away at the St. Petersburg Police Department, about 40 of the militant African-Americans group, National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, urged a civil uprising and demanded freedom for the 20 arrested in the mayhem.

``No justice; no peace!'' chanted protesters as riot-weary police officers stared on from inside the police station. ``Let our brothers go! Put the pigs on trial!''

The demonstrators handed out fliers, calling the police murderers and cast around a tin cup for money to bail out those arrested. They said they believe police are conspiring to keep African-American men down.

``You saw the pigs. The ones who throw you against the walls. The ones who break down your doors. The ones who murder your brothers!'' yelled Sobukwe Nombatu, a member of Uhuru.

Hundreds of National Guard troops and dozens of police officers were stationed at Tropicana Field, the city's domed sports stadium, in case violence breaks out again.

Residents in this predominantly African-American south St. Petersburg neighborhood began looting and burning white- and Asian-owned businesses after word spread of the shooting of Tyrone Lewis.

Lewis' shooting was the seventh shooting involving African-Americans and cars by police this year and the second within a week. Late the previous week, police killed a man who was about to stab his girlfriend.

On Friday at local fruit stands, on street corners and at Uhuru headquarters - a football field away from where Lewis was shot - there was talk of little else.

About a half-dozen men sat outside Lester's Car Care, a detail shop that shares a parking lot with what was Babcock Furniture. Only smoldering ashes of the store remained Friday.

``We didn't burn any black-owned businesses. Only the white ones that come in here and take our money,'' said Tony Mitchell, who works for Lester's and says he participated in the riot.

``It looked like Lebanon or Beirut,'' he said.

``A car flipped over. Satellite trucks were burning. Helicopters were flying over.''

Deangelos Lester, who owns the car detail business, said he expects more violence.

``It's a racial thing to me. White folks are trying to take over everything.''

The men said they anticipated the riots early Thursday evening when they first heard of the shooting.

``I said, `This is going to be like South Central L.A. They shot down our brother for nothing.' ''

A co-worker, Kenny Childs, put down his beer, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. ``I hope he's sitting up there,'' he said, referring to the dead motorist, ``saying, `thank you.' ''

Those who saw their businesses destroyed spent Friday hoping the violence was over. Shortly after sunrise, they began trying to salvage what they could. They posted plywood over broken windows and called insurance companies.

The business owners said they hadn't noticed any unusual tension in the community before Thursday night.

``Me and my wife have never had a problem before,'' said Thaun Van Tran, owner of South Side Groceries. He said all his beer was stolen from his cooler and his insurance company says it won't cover it.

At Carter's Florist, where rioters smashed large plate glass windows and stole floral arrangements, Terry Hagstrom said the shop had not had a problem during the four years he owned it.

After looters broke into the shop, Hagstrom and his partner spent most of the night trying to keep their building from going up in smoke.

The two doused flames at their shop with a garden hose after the Fire Department told them it couldn't respond to the riot-torn neighborhood.

``If we hadn't done that, it probably wouldn't be here today,'' he said.