College students form group to monitor police

Updated: College students form group to monitor Tallahassee police
By Nic Corbett • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • February 7, 2009

Updated 11:47 a.m.

A small group of college students have formed an organization called Copwatch to make sure officers aren't abusing their power.

There are other Copwatch groups across the country, but co-founder Max Herrle said his group has no direct affiliation with them.

"A lot of them have more radical viewpoints than we do," he said. "We try to keep it professional and respectful."

Officer David McCranie said the Tallahassee Police Department welcomes giving the public more insight into police operations.

"Any professional law-enforcement agency would not mind having the public view their activity," he said.

Check back with Tallahassee.com for more on this story.
 
morning update

A small group of college students have formed an organization called Copwatch, in which they video-tape Tallahassee police officers responding to calls to make sure they're not abusing their power.

"We stand for the preservation of civil liberties," said co-founder Max Herrle, who is in his second semester at Tallahassee Community College. "We advocate for the right of the accused. Sometimes, we feel like police officers prey on the uninformed."

Herrle said they did not form the group because of the death of Rachel Hoffman, a 23-year-old Tallahassee police informant killed during a botched drug operation, although it has been a rallying point among college students. Hoffman was a recent graduate of Florida State University.

Their goal is to have a citizens' oversight board established to monitor police actions, he said.

They plan to post the videos on YouTube.

Check Tallahassee.com later for more on this story.
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FBI acknowledges evidence for CONTROLLED DEMOLITION by Architect, Richard Gage as:  "backed by thorough research and analysis."  
See what Gage calls "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" in:  9/11: BLUEPRINT FOR TRUTH: http://gators911truth.org/PDF/FBI-CD-FF.pdf
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