In April 2015, then-Police Chief Jane Castor and Mayor Bob Buckhorn reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to request a comprehensive analysis of the Tampa Police Department’s (TPD) enforcement of bicycle laws. The request for the review came in the wake of news stories that pointed to racial disparities in the statistics for bicycle stops and citations.
After almost exactly a year, the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office returned a report containing its findings, as well as a set of more than 20 recommendations for action.
When the report was released on April 26 2016, TPD Chief Eric Ward announced that he would appoint a work group led by Assistant Chief Brian Dugan to see to it that the recommendations were implemented in a timely and effective manner.
The progress of that work group will be chronicled on this website.
Read or Download the DOJ/COPS report: An Examination of Racial Disparities In Bicycle Stops and Citations Made by the Tampa Police Department.
Read or Download the progress report implementing the DOJ / COPS recommendations.