Orlando police chief to brief city leaders on Downtown safety strategies
Orlando commissioners on Monday will revisit their discussion on safety in Downtown Orlando.
It comes as businesses continue to complain about restrictions they say forced some owners to close up shop.
At least a half dozen bars have shut down since a shooting that happened on Halloween night in 2024.
That mass shooting by a teenager, as people were out celebrating, made national news and further stained the Downtown's already-damaged reputation.
Downtown recently gained more unwanted attention after an officer-involved shooting in April. Police said the incident, which was captured on video, started when a man fired a gun into the air on a crowded sidewalk.
Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith is expected to give a presentation Monday morning alongside one of the city's senior leaders who has been overseeing the response to the violence, which has included the reopening of Orange Avenue to traffic in an effort to lessen the street party atmosphere.
Channel 9 will be there to hear their presentations and what city commissioners have to say afterward.
City leaders have been trying to thin out the number of nightclubs, add more parks, and try to make Downtown Orlando more appealing to daytime and early evening businesses.
Monday's meeting begins at 10 a.m. at Orlando City Hall.
Be sure to tune into Eyewitness News at Noon for an update on this story.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why is Dupont Circle important to DC's LGBTQ community? A look back
WASHINGTON - U.S. Park Police and DC Police confirmed on Friday that Dupont Circle would be closed for what may be the largest pride festival in the District's history, drawing criticism from DC leaders and the LGBTQ community. But why is Dupont Circle important in DC's Pride history? The backstory The first Pride festival was a block party organized by LGBT bookstore Lambda Rising in 1975, then located three blocks north of Dupont Circle on 20th and S St NW. The store closed in 2010, after 35 years of business. By 1981, a parade was added as part of the annual festivities, starting at Meridian Hill Park and ending at Dupont Circle. Parade routes in the 90s traveled along P Street through Dupont Circle before traveling south to Freedom Plaza. Dig deeper The larger Dupont Circle neighborhood has long been considered one of D.C. prominent gay neighborhoods. Every Halloween since 1986, a High Heel Drag Queen Race takes place on 17th Street, two blocks away from Dupont Circle. The race made headlines in 1991 when police arrested six men at the unpermitted event, using what many called "excessive force" to break up the revelry. An investigation into the officers followed, as well as an apology from D.C.'s then Mayor Sharon Pratt. Big picture view D.C. has a deep history of gay rights activism throughout the last six decades. In 1965, the DC chapter of the Mattachine Society picketed for gay rights in front of the White House – four years before the Stonewall Riots in New York City. Dr. Frank Kameny, a federal employee who was fired from his job for suspected homosexuality in 1957, served co-founded the Mattachine Society and organized the first of many White House pickets in the summer of 1965. Kameny told FOX 5 DC in a 1991 interview that D.C. had a "repressive kind of atmosphere" in the early 60s. "The vice squad had been set up … to, in effect, hunt down gays and create occasions for arresting us so that we could be thrown out of the civil service, out of civil service jobs, because at that point simply being gay was a disqualifier for federal employment," said Kameny. But Kameny also described the 60s as a "wonderful time to be doing anything and exciting and stimulating." "Nothing had been done and everything had remained to be done and we went out and did it. And we could, and we accomplished things," said Kameny. "Nowadays the road has a few more rocks. Watch more archival footage from D.C.'s Pride history on FOX LOCAL. The Source This story includes information from the National Park Service and previous FOX 5 DC reporting.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Seminole County Deputy suspended after gun scare near Milwee Middle School
A Seminole County Deputy has been suspended, accused of failing to do her job when she was alerted about a kid with a gun near a middle school campus. Channel 9 obtained a copy of an investigative report that details what happened, it stems from an incident in February. According to the report, Deputy Brianna Mattingly had been working as a school resource officer at Milwee Middle School. According to the report on February 26, a paraprofessional at the school told Mattingly that she saw a former student near campus with a gun. Investigators found Mattingly was careless in how she handled the incident. According to the report, from the time the paraprofessional told the deputy about the possible gun on campus to when she got out of her car and took any action to assess the situation, more than 8 minutes passed. Administrators said Mattingly was lackadaisical and failed to act with urgency. 'Despite having been informed of a potential threat in the immediate vicinity of the school, you failed to act on the reported information immediately… You failed to handle that threat appropriately,' reads the report. While the reported weapon turned out to be a pellet gun, investigators said the deputy didn't know it at the time and she didn't do her job by immediately going after the weapon. According to the documents, Mattingly apologized and took responsibility for the incident. She was suspended without pay for 42.5 hours, placed on a Performance Improvement Plan, and transferred from the Department of School Safety to the Judicial Services Division. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Waltham man found guilty of 2020 fatal stabbing on Halloween
A Waltham man has been found guilty of stabbing and killing his former housemate, Kevin Fitzgerald, on Halloween of 2020, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. Jonathan Galindo, 38, was found guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated burglary following a three-week trial that began May 8, the DA's office said in a Friday news release. At 9:14 p.m. Oct. 31, 2020, Fitzgerald, 61, called 911 and told police he had been stabbed in his Waltham home and was dying, officials said. Police found him bleeding but conscious at the threshold of the home, and he told them he had been stabbed by a man wearing a ninja mask. Fitzgerald was brought to the hospital, where he died just after 10 p.m. He was stabbed three times in the chest, shoulder and thigh. An autopsy revealed that the chest wound, which punctured his lung, was fatal. At the home on Alder Street, police found blood, a knife, a fingerprint on the back storm door and a set of footprints in the snow leading to that door, according to the district attorney's office. Four days after Fitzgerald's death, police matched the fingerprint on the storm door to Galindo, who was Fitzgerald's former housemate and had moved out of the apartment that spring. DNA on the handle of the knife also matched Galindo, officials said. On Nov. 7, police received an arrest warrant for Galindo. They also found a black mask in his closet. Location data from Galindo's phone showed him at the Alder Street apartment on the night of Fitzgerald's death, officials said. The phone's internet search history also showed repeated searches for 'Any recent stabbings in Waltham last night?' the following day. A sentencing hearing for Galindo has been scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 15. DOGE team can access Social Security systems, US Supreme Court rules Springfield Pride headliner Dawn Richard told 'Diddy' jurors of threats, violence, abuse Mass. teacher arrested, accused of faking degrees and military history Chicopee police cruiser spotted in Philadelphia causes social media buzz Lil Wayne releases new album 'Tha Carter VI,' announces 2025 tour - Here's how to buy tickets Read the original article on MassLive.
