Jacksonville Sheriff Uses Misleading Data to Defend Pedestrian Ticketing
Sheriff Mike Williams has sought to counter the findings of racial disparities in pedestrian ticketing with his own set of numbers. They don’t add up.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Jacksonville Over Pedestrian Ticket Enforcement
Reporting by The Florida Times-Union and ProPublica prompts the Legal Defense Fund to start on-the-ground interviews.
Sheriff’s Officers Working Black Section of Jacksonville to Get Bias Training
The effort comes as Jacksonville has seen controversial police shootings, arrests of activists and calls to suspend pedestrian ticketing in light of racial disparities.
Jacksonville City Council President and Local Public Defender Call for Suspension of Pedestrian Ticket Writing
A legal bulletin by the Jacksonville state attorney supports the finding that sheriff’s officers have been issuing hundreds of tickets in error, a disproportionate number of them to blacks.
Sheriff’s Office Directs Officers Not to Ticket Pedestrians for Failing to Carry ID
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has told its officers not to ticket pedestrians for not carrying a driver’s license and is voiding six such citations it erroneously issued.
Florida Police Issue Hundreds of Bad Pedestrian Tickets Every Year
The tickets for failing to cross in a crosswalk don’t just carry fines; they can damage credit rating and lead to the suspensions of driver’s licenses. A Florida Times-Union/ProPublica examination shows lots of them never should have been issued.
Pedestrian Tickets Lead to Hundreds of Suspended Driver’s Licenses
In Jacksonville, not paying your jaywalking ticket can cost you the ability to get to school or work. Again, blacks bear a disproportionate impact.
Local Lawmakers and Civil Rights Groups Call for Suspending Pedestrian Tickets in Jacksonville
Concerns about targeted enforcement against African Americans come after a Florida Times-Union/ProPublica investigation.
One Officer, Scores of Tickets and a Familiar Racial Disparity
C.J. Brown wrote four times as many pedestrian tickets as any other officer in Jacksonville over the last five years. Most of them went to blacks. His boss says he’s just “good at his job.”
Walking While Black in Jacksonville
Jacksonville’s enforcement of pedestrian violations raises concerns that it’s another example of racial profiling.