WATERTOWN — As she sits in a rocking chair surrounded by television cameras, her clear, haunting high notes swirl and curve around a story — one of country girl Susannah,
When Lakeland commissioners have gathered to discuss body cameras for the city s police department, they ve often claimed the controversy is stirred by national events like the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis not local ones.
The fatal shooting of Winter Haven resident Larry Jenkins, 52, by a Winter Haven officer is one example of a local event that spurred questions from residents. On April 18, one day after the incident, Winter Haven Police Chief David Brannan and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd addressed the media to give details of the shooting and announce that Judd s department would investigate.
Brannan and Judd were joined that night at the news conference by four Black ministers from the Winter Haven area. One of those men was Bishop Willie Mincey, the president of the Winter Haven branch of the NAACP.