Tampa Police Department – Page 2

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

Published on August 27, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Mitch Perry

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.…

Keep Reading

Midnight basketball facilities in Tampa to expand

Published on July 6, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Mitch Perry

In an effort to provide more positive opportunities for teenagers to engage in Tampa this summer, Mayor Bob Buckhorn announced last month that he would extend the hours that park facilities would remain open, as well as provide free “Rec Cards” for participating kids. City officials announced on Monday that beginning tonight, a total of nine park and recreation facilities will now stay open until midnight seven days a week. As of now, four such facilities have expanded their operating hours on…

Keep Reading

WTSP: TPD, Bob Buckhorn say no need for further review on race arrest rates

Published on May 8, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Phil Ammann

After calling for federal review of police practices in vehicle and bicycle code enforcement, both Tampa police and Mayor Bob Buckhorn insist there is no need to further expand an upcoming Justice Department investigation. This is despite a WTSP-TV report showing the Tampa Police Department arrested more blacks than any other law enforcement agency on Florida. According to reporter Noah Pransky, the TPD cites a “zero-tolerance” crime policy for its elevated arrest rates, and a correspondingly high arrest rate of non-black…

Keep Reading

Tampa police arrest more blacks than any other race, new data shows

Published on May 6, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Phil Ammann

Tampa police arrest more black men and women than any other racial group, according to new numbers obtained by WTSP-TV. This statistical disparity comes ahead of an upcoming U.S. Justice Department review of the Tampa Police Department procedures on vehicle and bicycle code enforcement. While recent Census estimates show 26 percent of Tampa’s population are African American, black men and women made up 54 percent of all TPD arrests in 2013. WTSP reporter Noah Pransky notes that those racial demographics outpace…

Keep Reading