A west Orange County mother whose black son was killed last year during an encounter with Orange County deputies finally had a chance to confront Sheriff Jerry Demings on Thursday morning. Demings, who is running to be elected the next Orange County mayor was participating in a political forum on The Wire 98.5 -- a Pine Hills-based radio station -- when Cadillya Anthony called in to discuss her son’s death. Orange County Commissioner Pete Clark, who is also running for the mayor’s seat, was on the show with Demings. Ms. Anthony’s son, Clarence CJ Lake 3 rd , died from drowning after he was chased by 10 deputies, 3 police dogs, and a police helicopter. She called in because she is still waiting for an explanation of her son’s death. Two days after her son’s body was recovered from Lake Sherwood, near Good Homes Road, Ms. Anthony went to the sheriff’s office headquarters seeking an explanation. Deputies said they were out of the office, but that they would get back t...

Orange County will become a police state before this year is over if Orlando’s downtown powerbrokers have their way. In a police state, what average people want does not matter. Just like in North Korea, the rulers do what they want. The rulers in a police state have the juice to shut down opposition financially, politically…and otherwise. Back in the 1970s  Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo , a former racist police chief, ruled that city. It was not pretty. This commentary is not an exaggeration or a parody. This is for real! Here is what’s happening right now. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings is running to become the next Orange County Mayor. Next to the Orlando Mayor (more on that in a moment), the Orange County Mayor is the most influential politician in Central Florida. Orlando Police Chief John Mina is running to become the next Orange County Sheriff. The sheriff leads the largest and best-equipped law enforcement agency in Central Florida. ...

Every marked police car at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is emblazoned with the motto: “Making a difference.” That motto is meaningless to Cadillya Anthony, whose unarmed 18-year-old son Clarence “CJ” Lake 3 rd  died during an encounter with a posse of Orange County deputies. “They made my life a living hell,” said Ms. Anthony. “They haven’t made a difference. They took away someone who was precious to our hearts. They didn’t do justice, period.” The circumstances leading to her son’s death were both unusual and horrifying. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office incident report shows that after responding to a car burglary call in a West Orange County apartment complex, a posse of 10 deputies, three police dogs, and a police helicopter chased the high school student -- who was on foot -- until he ended up under water in Lake Sherwood where his body was found 36 hours later. CJ was an honors student who had no criminal record and had never been in trouble. Ms....