Description: Two weeks ago there was a dispatch call to one of our own Gainesville police officers about a group of kids making a disturbance in an Alachua county neighborhood. When Officer Bobby White arrived at the location of the disturbance he find there are three African American kids playing basketball. The reason why I described the race of these kids is because this is the reason, I believe, the call was made. Instead of asking the kids to stop playing, the officer joined them and then suddenly more kids showed up to play. At the end of the video there is a scene that says that people need to stop calling about "kids being kids" and let the officers worry about people committing crimes.
Problem: The problem I see in this situation is the fact that our officers are being dispatched to these locations for reasons that are, in essence, pointless. There was no reason for Officer Bobby White to come to the location of the kids playing basketball. They were just playing basketball. Being kids. This is a problem that officers have to deal with while they should be at other locations securing the safety for the Alachua County residents.
2. Gainesville man gets 270-day jail sentence in puppy death http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A9388B69AA9488?p=AWNB
Description: A Gainesville man was sentenced to 270 days in jail for animal cruelty. Meldwige Gregoire adopted a pit bull mix puppy fro Animal Services and then two days later, he returns this puppy back to Animal Services dead. In two days this guy killed this puppy by stomping on the puppy's back and hind legs and also kicking the dogs ribs for the reason he says was "discipline".
Problem: The problem here is obvious. This man should have never been allowed to adopt this puppy. This poor puppy finally found a home to be taken to and then within two days it losses its life. That's terrible in my opinion. The problem is that there should of been background checks on this guy because I am sure they would of found something that looked suspicious. It is obvious this guy had planned on killing this dog as soon as he got it because he didn't even wait a week of having this puppy. It is shame that this happened.
3. Hurricane fears will blow over; early Alex doesn't portend bad year http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A9388B724EF7A0?p=AWNB
Description: There are storms forming already in the Bahamas and it is not even Hurricane season yet until June 1st. The big thing about this storm is the fact that the last time there was a hurricane to form out of season as early as January was 1938 when a hurricane nicknamed "The Long Island Express" ripped up New York and created about 4.5 billion dollars in damage in today's dollars. Is it something to worry about yet is unsure but I definitely think we should not just turn the other cheek on this.
Problem: The problem I see with this is the fact that people may not be prepared for a rough Hurricane season in Florida. There has not been a really bad storm to hit Florida in a few years. Therefore there are a lot of people that have never experienced a hurricane. Myself being one of those. Therefore, I think the problem this created is the fact that Florida residents need to learn about the proper precautions to take in the event there is a really bad storm heading our way.
4. Rock Gym faces unstable ground, buoyed by locals' support http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7E65B287302D0?p=AWNB
Description: Rock Gym in Gainesville needs your help. This new rock climbing centered gym in Gainesville has ran itself into some problems in the buildings foundation. The flooring of the gym has sunken into the ground and has made it an unsafe place to practice climbing. Therefore, the gym had to shut down temporarily in order to raise the funds to fix this problem.
Problem: The issue presented in this situation is the fact that there are plenty of people who enjoy the sport of climbing that can not practice in Gainesville as of right now. The company had to lay off 20 employees making those people jobless. Rock climbers in Gainesville will have to find another sport to occupy their time until Rock Gym can raise the 100,000 dollars they need to repair the falling building.
5.
Newberry woman arrested in home invasion robbery; 3 others sought http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7E65B383701A8?p=AWNB
Description: There was another robbery in Alachua county that is currently unsolved. A Newberry woman planned a robbery of a drug dealer with three other suspects, of whom are still not under arrest. This robbery lead to the stabbing of one person who ended up being rushed to the hospital. The man was fine and was able to identify all four suspects. Currently only the woman has been arrested.Problem: The problem this creates has to do with security. Gainesville police department are burdened with finding the other three suspects. Who knows how many other places this gang of people robbed. This is a safety and security issue. Are homes and neighborhoods in Alachua County not secured enough? Should there be neighborhood watch guards across all of Alachua county?
Hey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your posts! My favorite to read was the first one. It is a shame that people will call in a "disturbance" when children are just playing. Even if they were being really loud, I highly doubt they asked them to be quieter. They just called the police. Your last story I also used on my blog post but I used a different source. It was interesting to see how your version was worded. You can find my blog here: http://feliciaent3003.blogspot.com/2016/01/identifying-local-opportunities.html
Hey kevin!
ReplyDeleteThats so unfortunate that the cops would have to be called when kids just want to play some ball. This one really had me because I can very much relate to these kids who were just having a fun time. We used to do stuff like that in my childhood all the time. Thanks for the very interesting read! I totally agree with a lot of these identified local opps!
Please see my blog post here when you get the chance!: http://sadokh.blogspot.com/2016/01/california-drought-how-will-we-know.html
Also, the guy who killed his puppy - awful, awful person.
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