Orange County's Raids on Black Barbershops

Why are Orange County law enforcement officers raiding barber shops? 17 officers were used in armed raids of several barber shops. Deputies went searching for people "barbering without a license." The kicker is these barber shops are black-owned businesses. A total of 37 people were arrested. Most for lacking a license.

Deputies did damage to several of the shops looking for drugs. If these barber shops were drugs stash houses it would be one thing. However, the operation was mostly a bust.

Barbers and witnesses at several shops told the Orlando Sentinel that deputies shouted and cursed during the raids, demanding the location of illegal drugs, which they searched for extensively. They never found more than misdemeanor amounts of marijuana at eight of the nine shops they raided.

The lone exception: Just Blaze on Semoran Boulevard in Apopka, where an arrest report shows deputies found Ski Joseph Vasquez, 40, with "2 baggies of cocaine in a prescription bottle" and cutting agents in the barbershop's office during the Sept. 17 sweep. Vasquez was arrested on drug- and gun-related charges after deputies said they found a handgun in his car.

Vasquez's gun charge is serious. He might beat it if the court ruled the search was illegal. The drugs people had in their personal possession. The barber shops weren't drug depots. The Orange County Sheriff's Office went on a fishing expedition. Capt. Dave Ogden gave an explanation that doesn't pass the laugh test.

Asked why his unit made arrests for licensing violations, Ogden said: "It was a misdemeanor crime being committed in our presence. We decided to make arrests."

Armed raid for barbering without a license? Only 38 people have been arrest, in the past ten years, for barbering without a license. The charge is a misdemeanor. If we are to take Ogden at his word; haircuts are the Orange County Sheriff's Office top enforcement concern. The Sheriff's used the pretense of barbering without a license to raid without a warrant. A legal loophole was used through Department of Business and Professional Regulation inspectors to get the authority. Do not be surprised if the ACLU decides to file suit against the Sheriff's Office on behave of the business owners.