Quote:
Groups protest Orlando police over ticketings
Henry Pierson Curtis
Sentinel Staff Writer
March 21, 2007, 4:35 PM EDT
Several community groups gathered outside Orlando police headquarters today to complain that officers are harassing advocates feeding the homeless.
George Crossley of the Central Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said police ticketed motorists over the weekend for simply pausing to unload deliveries of food near Lake Eola.
However, police say an ordinance adopted last summer to end feeding the homeless in city parks is not being enforced until a court rules on its legality.
"If they say they weren't parked illegally, they'll have to dispute it in traffic court," said police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones. "It will be up to the hearing officer to decide who was right and who was wrong."
Members of Orlando Food Not Bombs, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and the National Latino Officers Association also complained about what they called unfair, heavy policing in minority neighborhoods.
"Why is it that you are singled out by police?" Crossley asked, saying officers repeatedly demand identification from Hispanic and African-American residents late at night. "I'm suggesting you won't see it in more affluent, white areas of Orlando."
Police encourage anyone who feels improperly treated by an officer to file a complaint with the department's Internal Affairs section. Police Chief Mike McCoy has said all complaints will be investigated.
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JERUSALEM SPECTATOR
26 - 1 - 0031
SANHEDRIN FINE LONG-HAIRED HIPPY SOSHALLUST FOR FEEDING FILIT-O-FISH TO FIVE THOUSAND HOMELESS SCUM!
(Convicted blasphemously claims Jewhovah
didn’t make the Protestant work ethic hating poor purely to prosper the righteous rich
)