WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Mainstreet Daily News: GPD searches for two suspects involved in shootings near UF. “Even though the threat was not directed at the UF campus community, UFPD sent out a UF Alerts message …
Read More »Gainesville’s noise ordinance debate continues to bring tension between Gainesville city officials and neighbors
Gainesville city commissioners unanimously decided Thursday against hiring a consultant to look over its noise ordinance. Gainesville Police Lt. Lisa Scott has said in the city, “the No. 1 complaint will be noise.” The complaints over the sound of loud cars and concerts in the downtown area remain. Gainesville has …
Read More »Local law enforcement agencies tackle staffing shortages addressed by statewide bonus program
Lexi Burks didn’t join law enforcement for the money. In fact, she grew up telling herself she’d never become a cop, despite her interest in criminal justice. After more exposure to the job of deputies, however, the High Springs native said she knew it was something she had to do, …
Read More »The Point, Nov. 6, 2023: Police video shows chaos during UF Israel vigil last month
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Fresh Take Florida: Panic in the plaza: New videos show chaos of stampede at UF peace vigil, reveal police secretly investigating suicide-bomb threat. “The first substantial videos to emerge from a panicked …
Read More »Panic in the plaza: New videos show chaos of stampede at UF peace vigil, reveal police secretly investigating suicide-bomb threat
The first substantial videos to emerge from a panicked stampede at the University of Florida during a nighttime vigil for Israelis killed in the Hamas attacks show waves of terrified students sprinting out of their shoes, discarding phones and water bottles and colliding with startled and confused police officers who …
Read More »Gainesville City Commission revokes open container law adopted during pandemic
The Gainesville City Commission repealed the city’s open container laws Thursday, making it illegal to carry and drink alcohol in most public spaces starting Jan. 1. The city will designate two areas as Arts, Culture and Entertainment Districts — Downtown/Depot Park and part of the Grove Street neighborhood — where …
Read More »Atkins Warren Chapter of NOBLE organizes annual Blessing of the Badges Ceremony
Alena Lawson Bennett served over two decades as a lieutenant with the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) and later as chief investigator of the Gainesville Public Defender’s Office. Bennett, the current president of the Gainesville chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), organized a religious service to …
Read More »Prosecutors formally charge man accused of crashing stolen excavator into Walmart
Florida prosecutors have decided to formally proceed with their criminal case against the man who took a stolen excavator for a joyride and crashed into a Walmart store, causing estimated damages of $2 million. Police said Jesse Charles Smith, 47, of Trenton, hot-wired and stole a large construction excavator Sept. …
Read More »The Point, Oct. 6, 2023: Alachua County approves Archer solar array
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Alachua Chronicle: City Manager memo: GPD employees “feel as if the department is crumbling around them.” “An October 3 memorandum from Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry to Gainesville Police Chief Lonnie Scott, …
Read More »Gainesville man attacked by police K-9 after fleeing scene pleads guilty to one count
Terrell Bradley, the Gainesville man who was mauled by a police K-9 dog in July 2022 while fleeing a traffic stop, was sentenced to a year in prison Tuesday morning after withdrawing his not guilty plea. Bradley pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and no …
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