Tampa Food Not Bombs Will Not Be Prosecuted

This press release came from State Attorney Andrew Warren's office.

Tampa, FL – Andrew Warren, the newly-elected State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County, will not prosecute volunteers from Tampa Food Not Bombs who were arrested for trespassing for feeding the homeless earlier this year. On January 7, 2017, seven volunteers were arrested for trespass for distributing food to the homeless in Lykes Gaslight Square Park, a Tampa-owned park, without the required city permit. The seven volunteers were issued notices to appear in court before a judge, at which time the case was referred to the State Attorney’s Office for prosecution. The first volunteer’s appearance was scheduled for January 18, 2017. Today, the State Attorney’s Office filed a Notice of Nolle Prosequi for the first of the trespassing arrests, which serves as a dismissal of the case. The State Attorney’s Office will dismiss the cases for the remaining six defendants after those appearances are scheduled.

Regarding his decision not to prosecute, Warren said, “My mission is to make our community safer while promoting justice and fairness for everyone. Prosecuting people for charitable work does not further that mission and is an inefficient use of government resources. Furthermore, our goal is to view each case not as a person to be prosecuted but as a problem to be solved. That is why we have spoken with the Tampa Police Department, members of Tampa City Council, the Mayor’s office, and the attorney for Tampa Food Not Bombs in order to facilitate a resolution, and we commend them for working together to find a sensible solution. We will not prosecute the trespassing charges so long as the Tampa Food Not Bombs organization willingly participates in reaching a resolution to this matter and remains non-violent.”

Andrew Warren was sworn-in as the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, serving Hillsborough County, on January 3, 2017, after being elected on November 8, 2016. He was previously a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice in Tampa, FL, and Washington, DC, and earned multiple accolades from the Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies for his prosecution of complex white collar crime, including the 2013 Attorney General Award for Trial Litigation. A native of Gainesville, FL, Mr. Warren graduated from Brandeis University as a double-major in economics and political science before earning his J.D. from Columbia University Law School.

This is a good decision. It does not help Tampa's reputation to prosecute a charity organization attempting to feed the homeless. Sadly, downtown Tampa is filled with homeless people. The City of Tampa needs to address the housing situation for the homeless. There are simply not enough shelter beds for the homeless.

City of Tampa May Make Unauthorized Peeking Cameras Legal

I can't believe the Tampa City Council is even debating whether or not surveillance cameras can peek into homes without a warrant.

Today Tampa City Council approved changes to an ordinance reinforcing that would make it a crime for Tampa Police to use surveillance cameras purchased for the Republican convention for unauthorized peeping on residents inside their homes. But they put off a decision about whether the cameras will be a permanent part of the city’s landscape. There’s been ongoing friction between council and the mayor’s administration about who has the authority to authorize deployment of the cameras. To help clear that up council scheduled a workshop for next August suggested by member Harry Cohen.

The correct answer should be no one should have the authority for "unauthorized peeking." Perhaps Mayor Bob Buckhorn and the Tampa City Council need a refresher course on the Fourth Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Tampa Police chief Jane Castor says that the cameras will not be used to peek into homes. We were goiven assurances that the Patriot Act was temporary and would only be used against terrorists. We have seen warrantless wiretapping on law-abidding American citizens since the Patriot Act became law.

I was in downtown Tampa during the Republican National Convention. The excessive security kept Tampa residents away from downtown. Out of town Republicans went to Ybor City to spend their money. Downtown Tampa is already a mess. Intrusive surveillance cameras will only make downtown Tampa less friendly to visitors.

Update: Mitch Perry reports that the decision to have the surveillance cameras is strictly up to Mayor Bob Buckhorn. He has already decided to keep the cameras. It appears that the ACLU is going to have the City of Tampa to court.

Occupy Tampa Member Arrested For Chalking

This seems silly. Occupy Tampa member Nathan Schwartz was arrested in May for writing in chalk near the downtown Bank of America building.

Schwartz was charged with two misdemeanors-trespassing and criminal mischief. About a dozen members of Occupy Tampa stood in solidaritywith Schwartz at his hearing.

Schwartz’s lawyer requested photographic evidence of the chalking. The chalk arrow mark has most likely washed away by now. Schwartz and his attorney plan to fight this on First Amendment grounds. The City of Tampa intends to prosecute this case. Your tax dollars at work.

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Numbers for Republican National Convention

The City of Tampa have released the numbers for the Republican National Convention. There were only two arrests five incidents of heat stroke. There were only a small number of protesters at the RNC. Media seemed to outnumber everyone else.

Anyone downtown would have noticed the huge police presence. It cost $50 million for the extra law enforcement. The Hill estimated that police outnumbered protesters 4 to 1 on the cancelled Monday. From what I saw, the police to protester ratio was much higher.

Tampa Police Department Has Corporate Sponsors

Seriously. Check out the corporate logos on an armored TPD police vehicle. When did the TPD start getting corporate sponsors like NASCAR. The photo was taken by Occupy Tampa.

TPD just drove by our camp in a tracked armored personel carrier. PLEASE COME OUT TONIGHT and bear witness to our militarized police state. WE WILL NOT BE MOVED!

Occupy Tampa Moved from Curtis Hixon Park

Occupy Tampa moves to Curtis Hixon: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

Occupy Tampa has been moved from the sidewalk near Curtis Hixon Park. The Tampa Police Department say that the protesters are getting too comfortable. If you can call sleeping on a sidewalk comfy.

"That's like setting up a camp in a public park," said Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.

Part of the problem is that TPD told the protesters to move to Curtis Hixon Park from their original location of Lykes Gaslight Park. The latter park was Occupy Tampa's original location.

Occupy Tampa issued a press release on their web site.

Read more »

Tampa Police Department Sexual Harassment

There is a thirteen page report on why Officer Martha Gearity transferred out of a TPD anti-crime street unit.

The behavior according to the investigation includes constant flagellation, belching and excessive sexual joking by male officers. It says quote "officer Gearity said that they talked about anal sex, they watched pornographic movies at work, talked about their sex lives in the open, made reference to her menstruation, joked about having homosexual relations with one another in graphic detail and took pictures of a penis with a camera phone."

Those involved include Officer Gregory Cotner, Officer David Duncan, Officer Ryan Sigler, and their superiors Corporal David Watt and Sergeant Gene Strickland.

Laura McElroy, Tampa Police Department said, "We immediately disbanded the members of this squad and then launched our own investigation and then we learned about the sexually charged and offensive environment of the squad." The St. Petersburg Times reports that the investigation proved the allegation to be true.

Here is an example of how stupid these officers were.

They "consistently" passed gas, burped and made sexual jokes, frequently over the police radio system. Officer Peter Charbonneau said it sometimes prevented other officers from speaking to each other, and he worried for officer safety "because of all the fooling around."

The three officers frequently talked about their sex lives and joked about having homosexual relations with each other.

In front of employees at a Race Trac on 50th Street, the officers likened Gearity's bowel movements to an atom bomb. They nicknamed her "Hiroshima." On one occasion, they laughed at her as she went to the restroom and asked her if she was menstruating.

I also wonder about guys who make homophobic to each other and then share a picture of a penis. These are sexually confused boys.