Law and public safety

Mark Bleiweis, his wife, Jennifer, and his sister-in-law left their seats early during Saturday night’s football game between Florida and Georgia. As they exited the TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, they heard shouting from a sea of people – but it wasn’t about touchdowns. It took a few seconds for Bleiweis, a University of Florida professor and heart surgeon, to track the shouting. He said he saw a group of men, young and middle-aged, yelling antisemitic remarks. The sheriff’s office said no crimes were committed because the comments were protected as free speech.

Two of seven members of Gainesville's police advisory council recommended unsuccessfully that the police department's K9 unit be abolished, signaling ahead of an upcoming city commission meeting the level of community outrage over this summer's mauling of a man who lost his eye after a traffic stop.

A teacher is facing felony criminal charges after deputies say she had a loaded handgun in her car at Chiefland Elementary School. Paige Ehlers, a first-year teacher, sent two fourth-grade students to her car to get her medication Monday. The Levy County Sheriff’s Office said when the students went into the car they saw a gun and told school staff who contacted the school’s resource deputy. The school board said Ehlers was placed on administrative leave because having the loaded handgun is a violation of school policy. While it is legal for a person to carry a concealed firearm in a vehicle, school districts can have policies negating the law. Ehlers is facing charges of child endangerment. She was released from jail Tuesday and was not required to pay bond.

Legislators in favor of Amendment 3 tout it as a lifeline for Floridians struggling in a volatile housing market, but those against it say the measure wouldn’t do enough. If passed, the amendment would increase the homestead exemption for K-12 teachers, police officers, correctional officers, firefighters, emergency-medical technicians, paramedics, child-welfare …

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information from an interview with the doctor’s accuser. GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A former osteopathic physician who resigned from the University of Florida College of Medicine during a misconduct investigation has been ordered to attend mental health counseling and perform 15 hours of …

An Alachua County elected official running for reelection next month is accused by police of carving a gay slur into an SUV parked across the street from his family’s former home. Daniel "Danny" Taylor Gordon, 41, of Gainesville is formally accused in Alachua County Circuit Court of misdemeanor property damage and criminal mischief, according to court records filed Tuesday. Police said Gordon was caught on video by a nearby surveillance camera, which he then stole. He denies it.

A 20-year-old UF student was arrested Monday for assaulting a manager at The Social. The same man was arrested for punching a bouncer in the face at the Salty Dog Saloon three months ago. Kaleb Wiswall is being charged with aggravated battery and disorderly intoxication after punching a manager at The Social, pushing him down four stairs and falling down on his neck, according to the arrest report. The manager sustained a dislocated shoulder, a dislocated finger and bruises. Wiswall was arrested in July and charged with simple battery after he punched a bouncer who denied him entry into the Salty Dog Saloon.