Orlando police leaders say they’re preparing to take the bold step of posting on their website the rules and regulations that officers are required to follow. Posting this information online will give the public unprecedented transparency into how OPD officers are supposed to behave and how the department operates. Making this information easily available to the public puts officers on notice to always act within departmental rules. This decision by OPD is particularly timely in the wake of the recent fatal shooting of a man by an OPD officer during an incident at Colonial Plaza. After that shooting, many people asked questions about the guidelines for using deadly force and opening fire close to the public. David Porter, the publisher of  www.32805OrlNews.com , proposed publishing OPD’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) several months ago during a Police Review Board meeting at City Hall. After that meeting, he discussed the proposal with OPD Chief John Mina. ...

Phillip Marion Warren was a happy-go-lucky Orlando 15-year-old in 1994. It took Orlando police less than 10 minutes to wreck Phillip’s life. Phillip blames Orlando Police Officer Charles Stewart with falsely charging him with a crime and lying on an arrest affidavit. Phillip was found guilty of being a minor in possession of a firearm and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon. Phillip Marion Warren Though Phillip today is a married father of three children and works full time as a real-estate agent, the juvenile arrest record has prevented him from pursuing many of his career dreams. Phillip’s nightmare began late on March 5, 1994 when he and some buddies from Evans High School were preparing to come home from the game arcade at downtown’s old Church Street exchange – a hot spot for teens back in the day. They walked back to their car that was parked in a lot on the corner of South Street, just off Orange Avenue – on the present-day site of the Dr. Phillips C...