News & Public Affairs

Uhuru activists want St. Pete Police out of their neighborhoods for good listen

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Tags: Uhuru, African rights, African-Americans, St. Petersburg, civil rights, human rights, St. Pete Police

Activists from the Uhuru are demanding that St. Pete Police officers remove themselves from black communities. During a protest in front of the police station today, nine people spoke out against the agency for what they call terrorizing black neighborhoods.

“The street crimes unit is a special unit of the police department that act as armed thugs in the African community.”

That’s Chimerenga Waller with the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement. Waller led the group in ch...

Arrested activist claims St. Pete Police harass people without homes in Williams Park listen

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Tags: Bruce Wright, poverty, St. Pete Police, homeless, homelessness, Bill Foster, St. Petersburg, Williams Park

A longtime homeless activist in St. Petersburg is claiming that police officers hurt him while he was trying to defend a homeless man in Williams Park Wednesday. Bruce Wright was arrested and charged with obstruction after another man being arrested got away. According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, officers had an arrest warrant for a man in the park. That report quoted Wright as saying “stop harassing that man” and then asking what he had done wrong.

“You stiffen up a bit...

Some Tampa Bay law enforcement agencies use same flammable tear gas that led to fugitive cop death listen

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Tags: Lakeland Police, St. Pete Police, Clearwater Police, Sarasota Police, Tampa Police, Pinellas Park Police, Sarasota Sheriff, Manatee Sheriff, Pasco Sheriff, Polk Sheriff, Citrus Sheriff, Pinellas County Sheriff, Hillsborough County Sheriff, tear gas, incen

A few weeks ago in Southern California, police who tried to arrest a former LA Police officer accused of murder burned down the house where the suspect was hiding using incendiary tear gas. Some police agencies in the Tampa Bay area are equipped with the chemical weapon. It’s used by specially trained police units to smoke out dangerous suspects during certain situations. But the consequences of an unintended fire can be deadly. We spoke to several law enforcement agencies in the area to f...

St. Pete's new armored surveillance vehicle has cameras, not guns listen

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Tags: St. Pete Police, security cameras, police state, St. Pete City Council, Chuck Harmon

The St. Petersburg Police Department unveiled the newest addition to their crime stopping fleet this morning – it’s an armored surveillance vehicle. The mobile monitoring device can record activity in a 360-degree radius during the day or night. The former Brinks cash truck won’t be manned by a police officer. But that doesn’t mean no one is watching the area around it. It will instead by monitored remotely by officers on an as-needed basis. St. Pete Police Chief Chuck Harmon said the idea ...

St. Pete Police get armored vehicle but say it won't be used for Republican convention listen

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Tags: RNC, Republican National Convention, St. Pete Police, armored vehicles

The City of St. Petersburg has purchased an armored vehicle less than one month before the kick-off event for the Republican National Convention. But team leader for the St. Petersburg Police Department’s SWAT unit, David Gerardo, said the more than $200,000 expense isn’t related to the massive event being held at Tropicana Field.

“Really, that’s just total coincidence as far as timing.”

And Mike Puetz, spokesperson for the agency, doesn’t expect protesters, journalists or delegates a...