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Tampa Police say they’ve written only 13 bike tickets this summer

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward told the City Council this morning that bike citations in the city are down 69 percent this summer – a radical reduction in citations after a published report this spring showed that the police department had written more bike tickets in the past three years than Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Orlando combined – with 80 percent of them going to black people. Police gave out 59 bike tickets from May through July, Ward said.…

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For Tom Scott, ‘driving while black’ is more than a slogan

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Negative relations between law enforcement and the black community have been a huge story over the past year, and incidents of police abuse captured on video have led to a call for reforms, such as the use of body cameras for police officers. That background — as well as a published report thatĀ blacks in Tampa had received nearly 80 percent of all bicycle citations over the past dozen years — has spurred the call for a civilian review board for…

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Tampa citizens to call for civilian review board to monitor police

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Two years ago, officials at California State University-Fullerton produced a comprehensive report onĀ policeĀ civilian oversight boards. Among their findings was that obstacles to creating a successful agency included politicians who have a ā€œlaw and orderā€ agenda not conducive to oversight — and, even if such an agency was created, the powerĀ that lawmakers have toĀ limit their oversight powers through legislation or budgets. That’s just part of the institutional barriers that Tampa citizens who will be calling for such a board may face…

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The black community in the Bob Buckhorn era discussed at Tampa town hall

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Friday night in Cincinnati, police arrested six people at a rally held to honor Sam DuBose, a black man killed by an ex-University of Cincinnati Police Officer last month. The incident wasĀ the latest involving a black person dying it the hands of law enforcement captured on video and broadcast throughout the country. While there have been no such incidents in Tampa, it would be a mistake to believe that there aren’t significant tensions between members of the black community and…

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Tampa Police Dept. treatment of blacks blasted at Justice Dept. town hall meeting

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

There was some anger. There was a lot of pain. But there wasn’t a whole log of hope expressed by Tampa residents regarding the treatment they’ve received from the Tampa Police Department at a town hall meetingĀ hosted by the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) in Ybor City Tuesday night. This was the second time that theĀ COPS office has visited Tampa since a Tampa Bay Times expose in April revealed that the Tampa Police Department had issued…

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Mitch Perry Report for 5.22.15 — On Donald Trump, James Harden & what local taxpayers should pay for

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to you all, which by the way is the earliest we can ever have such a holiday, with this Monday only being the 25th of May. Incidentally, Labor Day will take place as late as it can be this year (September 7), which will actually be a factor in delaying the NFL season by a week, meaning the regular season won’t end until next January. If one of theĀ prerequisites for being a politician is engagingĀ in a…

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Eric Ward confirmed by Tampa City Council as new police chief

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Although he’s effectively been on the job for nearly two weeks, Eric Ward did not officially become the current police chief in Tampa until Thursday morning, when the City Council unanimously confirmed his appointment. It came while dozens of his fellow TPD officers crammed into the Council’s intimate chambers to be part of the occasion. The 48-year-old Ward grew up in East Tampa and has served in virtually every position in the department over the past 26 years. HeĀ served as…

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