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Guest AuthorNovember 25, 2015

When President Abraham Lincoln wrote all of his Thanksgiving Proclamations, it was during a time of war. Most of us know the Civil War, maybe not all its ins and outs, but the gist of the deal. The war wrought havoc on the “mystic chords” of national unity that had held the nation together through […]

Mitch PerryOctober 12, 2015

In the wake of highly publicized acts of police brutality captured by cellphone cameras during the past year, more law enforcement agencies are using or are about to begin using body-worn cameras (BWCs). While they have been celebrated as a technological breakthrough that can protect law enforcement officers as well as members of the public […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 9, 2015

A wide gulf exists between how black Americans and white Americans think black people are treated by police, according to a poll released Wednesday by a group of African-American lawyers, judges, educators and law students. The National Bar Association poll showed 88 percent of blacks think police treat black people unfairly compared with 59 percent of white Americans […]

Bob SparksJune 11, 2015

There is no way to sugar coat it. The relationship and level of trust between urban African-American communities and police is at its lowest point in decades. Bringing people together will take an honest assessment of where we are followed by good-faith suggestions for solutions. Everyone must understand it is tough being a cop and […]

Melissa RossJune 9, 2015

An on-air discussion of the McKinney, Texas, viral video making the rounds this week quickly turned into an impassioned debate on criminal justice, with one participant’s calls to confront institutional racism set against another’s plea to evaluate police use-of-force incidents case by case. “We have to look at the institutionalization of racism in America,” activist Wells […]

Mitch PerryMarch 6, 2015

After the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of law enforcement agencies last year, there was a nationwide clamor for police officers to begin wearing body cameras as a way to provide transparency and accountability for both the police and the citizenry. President Obama announced $263 million in funding for law enforcement […]

Shannon NickinsonDecember 15, 2014

“These situations create in me a mixture of emotions: Anger, Fear, Sadness, Frustration, Helplessness. … We teach (our son) right from wrong. Teach him how to be respectful. But does it even matter when he can do all these things and still be viewed as a threat … Just because he has a better natural […]

Mitch PerryDecember 12, 2014

As always, Howard Simon is a very busy man. The executive director of the ACLU of Florida for over 17 years was in Tampa early Friday morning as the featured guest speaker at the annual Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council awards breakfast at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westshore. Simon said one of the chief reasons he […]

Guest AuthorDecember 9, 2014

The recent grand jury cases examining the deaths of African-Americans Michael Brown and Eric Garner exonerated the police officers who killed them and ignited passionate demonstrations and recriminations from civil rights leaders alleging ingrained racism in our criminal justice system. The debate since Brown’s killing in Ferguson, Mo., has centered on the training and behavior […]

Mitch PerryDecember 4, 2014

One of the few tangible (if not necessarily positive) events with nearly universal appeal that came out of the entire Michael Brown tragedy was the call for body cameras on police officers. Local police departments in the Tampa Bay area are about to start pilot programs with the cameras. And yesterday Gulfport Police Chief Robert […]

Tag: Eric Garner
Image via Fresh Take Florida.

Chris Timmons: Remember, above all, your gratitude

USF/Orlando PD study finds police body cameras reduce citizen complaints

Bar Association poll finds deep racial schism in attitudes on law enforcement

Bob Sparks: Police body cameras can exonerate as well as implicate

The McKinney video: a Rashomon

ACLU, other groups withdraw support of police body camera bill

Shannon Nickinson: Reducing the world to black and white is hurtful

Florida ACLU head Howard Simon on the police, same-sex marriage and restoration of ex-felon voting rights

Steve Kurlander: Brown and Garner cases indict antiquated grand jury system

Mitch Perry Report for 12.4.14 – Body cameras still the answer?