Pubdate: Thu, 11 May 2006 Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL) Copyright: 2006 Orlando Sentinel Contact: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325 Author: Phil Cowherd PARRAMORE REALITY As a Parramore area landlord who spends a large portion of his time attempting to increase police presence and law enforcement in Parramore, I must respond to suggestions that the Orlando Police Department's Taser use is somehow racist. To believe this, one must believe that Deputy Chief Val Demings, the wife of Orlando's first black chief of police, is a racist. One must also note that those who are quoted in Monday's article making negative comments about the police in Parramore do not live in Parramore and may benefit (increasing their power and/or income) by claiming that OPD officers are racist, unfair or punitive. All of the many law-abiding Parramore residents I know feel the same way as the 62-year-old retired resident you quoted saying, "If it weren't for the law, you couldn't walk down these streets." In 1990, as chair of one of Orlando's first revitalize-Parramore committees, OPD furnished me statistics showing that the Parramore area generated 49 percent of drug-related charges. I note your article reports that it is now down to 39 percent. The citizens of Orlando need to know that the Parramore area contains only about 1 percent of Orlando's land area and population. Serious crime occurring in Parramore is so rampant that it is often no longer news. In order to protect the citizens of Parramore, College Park, Eola Park, the balance of the city and our downtown, we must finally get control of Parramore. This will lead to more police activity and therefore more tasing of individuals with no respect for our laws or our society. Phil Cowherd Winter Park - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman