Lawyer's plan to display cardboard cut-out if prosecutor skips race-relations meeting draws fire
Fireworks already have erupted over a town hall meeting to be hosted in Tampa on Wednesday night by a Florida trial lawyer in an effort to bring together the community, law enforcement and members of the judicial system to discuss race relations.
Tampa’s mayor, the city’s assistant police chief and the Hillsborough County sheriff are among those expected to attend, reports the Tampa Bay Times. However, a threat by lawyer Barry Cohen to display prominently a life-size cardboard figure of state attorney Mark Ober if he doesn’t show drew fire from Ober.
In a Wednesday letter to Cohen (PDF), Ober criticized Cohen’s tactics and motives, reports another Tampa Bay Times article.
“I find it shameful that your website announcing this important issue looks more like a billboard advertising you and your law firm than a legitimate effort to engage in meaningful discussion,” Ober’s letter says, in part.
Cohen cites recent unrest in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, as examples of a problem that needs to be addressed before it erupts locally. He pointed to recent news about an investigation into Tampa’s focus on ticketing black bicyclists for relatively minor offenses, the Times reports.
“The anger, the frustration, the hopelessness is all present here,” Cohen said, adding: “We need to make sure that there are solutions.”
A law firm press release provides additional details.
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WTSP: “Town hall meeting to address mistrust of police”
