Police in Tampa say an officer was killed after colliding with a wrong-way driver on Interstate 275 early Tuesday. Authorities believe the collision was purposeful. LISTEN: According to police, the last moment of Officer Jesse Madsen’s life was spent saving others. Police Chief Brian Dugan said in a 16-and-a-half year career, it was something Madsen… Read more »
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St. Pete protesters supporting Breonna Taylor face threats from police supporters and more vehicles after viral video
Before they marched, they prayed. Protesters marched with renewed vigor this week after a grand jury in Kentucky chose to not bring charges against officers who killed Breonna Taylor. Listen: After four straight months of near-daily, peaceful marches, tensions were among the highest they’d been Thursday night. Wednesday, a Tampa Bay Times reporter tweeted a… Read more »
Activists call for $13 million Tampa police increase to instead be put into social programs
Tampa and Hillsborough County are both set to adopt new budgets this week. Both are also set to increase law enforcement spending as activists in the area call for some of that money to be diverted to social programs. Listen: City and county governments are preparing to finalize their first budgets since widespread calls have… Read more »
Hillsborough Sheriff announces expansion of Juvenile Arrest Avoidance Program
Leaders in Hillsborough County say that a program to keep kids out of jail and give them citations instead is working. So they’re making changes to expand and improve the Juvenile Arrest Avoidance Program. Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister announced the changes Thursday morning. “With the exception of five offenses, which I will expand on in… Read more »
A Pizza Hut driver was filmed driving through Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Pete and the company is keeping quiet
Last Thursday, Black Lives Matter activists with the St. Pete Peace Protest captured video as a Pizza Hut delivery driver drove through demonstrators standing in a crosswalk. Activists are calling for the driver and a local manager to be fired, but the company isn’t saying much. Listen: As they’ve done almost every night for nearly… Read more »
Radioactivity Tuesday: Investigative report links futuristic policing to citizen harassment in Pasco County
September 8, 2020 Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. The Tampa Bay Times recently published an investigative report on a new, high-tech form of policing—one which tries to stop crime before it happens. The system uses futuristic, cutting edge technology to identify people who are about to commit crimes in Pasco County. What… Read more »
Black Lives Matter protests: Hillsborough State Attorney drops some charges, pursues others
The Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office released information Friday afternoon about charges related to Black Lives Matter protests that it is either pursuing or dropping. For example, Andrew Warren’s office said it will not pursue criminal charges against protester Jae Passmore. Police charged her with battery saying she hit a counter-protester in the head. But the… Read more »
Putting more police in Florida schools is hurting students, study finds
A new study from the University of Florida and the ALCU claims that increased policing in schools has not made schools any safer and might be doing more bad than good. The mass shooting and killing of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 sparked new debate about the safety of Florida’s… Read more »
Pinellas County Sheriff has a new official policy on how deputies execute search warrants
On Tuesday the Pinellas Sheriff said his office is making official a new policy on how deputies execute search warrants. Ever since police in Louisville, Kentucky killed Breonna Taylor while conducting what’s called a “no-knock” warrant, many people have called for a ban. But Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says even though Florida doesn’t have “no-knock” warrants,… Read more »
City of Tampa and USF release survey results from Community Policing Workshop
Over the weekend, the City of Tampa unveiled findings about community opinions of the city’s police force. Mayor Jane Castor responded to the results of Tampa’s Community Policing Workshop. The survey was conducted and results were announced by a USF professor, who we’ll heard from on WMNF’s MidPoint. Listen to the show here. The results… Read more »
Ben Crump releases new video of truck driving into Tampa activist
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump has released a previously unreleased video of a red truck striking and injuring a Black Lives Matter activist during protests during the Juneteenth weekend in Tampa. Tampa Police have so far not arrested the driver of the truck that struck demonstrator Jae Passmore. In the short video below you can… Read more »
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Black Lives Matter, other activists, respond to beating of Jae Passmore with Rally in Tampa park
Dozens of activists gathered in Tampa’s Lykes Gaslight Park Friday morning in response to the arrest and beating of prominent Black Lives Matter activist Jae Passmore. The smell of burning sage mixed with palpable frustration as Passmore led chants calling for the ousting of Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who… Read more »
Tampa Police injure protest leader during arrest for battery
A prominent anti-racism protester was hospitalized Wednesday night after she was arrested by Tampa Police. In a press release, police say they charged Jae Passmore with battery and with resisting arrest without violence. In a video posted to Instagram (see below), witnesses yell at police to stop kneeling on Passmore, who is on the ground…. Read more »
Tampa Police say they arrested four teens for spray painting on Back the Blue mural
Tampa Police say they arrested four teenagers late Tuesday night for spray painting on a street mural outside police headquarters in downtown Tampa. The mural on Madison Street at Franklin Street was painted by supporters of the police. That “Back the Blue” mural was painted without a permit from the city, but its creators have… Read more »
