The Official Unofficial Seminole Heights Blog

The story of our taser man was picked up and is now running on the world news ap. This is the story from Canada.

Florida Lawyer Shot With Police Taser
Current World News - Toronto,Ontario,Canada

A Florida lawyer was the unfortunate recipient of a taser shot from a police officer after he got visibly upset during a code enforcement meeting.

Carl Roland Hayes,, 53 became upset when addressing the board, and was asked to leave.

He was defending his decision to install aluminum windows he’d installed at his Seminole Heights home, instead of the wood windows that are in accordance with historic preservation codes.

Upon being escorted out of the room, he reportedly slapped a police officer in the face, and was subsequently tasered and handcuffed.

Hayes was charged with 3 counts: battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and trespassing after warning.

Ironically enough, he is yet to retain a lawyer to defend him. http://www.currentworldnews.net/2008/11/27/florida-lawyer-shot-with-police-taser/

TAMPA — A Tampa attorney was Tasered by police Wednesday afternoon during a meeting of the Tampa Code Enforcement Board. Carl Roland Hayes, 53, was addressing the board at 12:40 p.m. Wednesday about the aluminum windows he’d installed at his Seminole Heights home, when police say he became visibly upset and agitated. Tampa Police Lt. Ronald McMullen said officials asked Hayes to leave the meeting. As Officer Don Miller escorted Hayes from the meeting, Hayes slapped the officer in the face, McMullen said. Miller deployed his Taser gun on Hayes with no effect, he said. So, Miller “drive stunned” Hayes, placing the stun gun against Hayes’ skin, then he and another officer took the man to the ground, handcuffing him as he struggled, McMullen said. According to records, Hayes had been cited for installing aluminum windows at his home, 5115 N Branch Ave., rather than the wood windows required under historic preservation codes. He has been being fined $60 per day since Oct. 24 for not having the right windows. Hayes told the officials that replacing 19 windows with wood would cost $300 to $400 a piece. He hasn’t worked most of the year due to brain surgery and has lost half of his income as a result. “I am not wealthy and could only afford the aluminum windows for the back of my house, which are safer, more affordable and more efficient,” he wrote in an Oct. 31 letter to the Code Enforcement board. Hayes is being charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and trespassing after warning, McMullen said. He was booked into Orient Road Jail at 2:15 p.m.Wednesday. Years ago, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Daniel Perry recused himself from all of Hayes’ cases after Hayes accused the judge and his bailiffs of treating him differently than others because of his skin color.

From TCPalm: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/nov/27/tampa-attorney-tasered-during-code-enforcement-mee/

Next door, there is a vacant lot that has been for sale as long as the Real Estate Market has been going sour. Originally, the owner put the lot on the market hoping to capitalize on our revitalization efforts. Initially she had the property listed well over $100,000. Now, years later she has continued to lower the price and with the slumping economy, she sits and waits. In the meantime, the lot has become overgrown, dumping has occurred and the neighbors suffer. For the past two year, neighbors have consistently called code enforcement to obtain assistance. For years, nothing has improved. Mind you, with the owner being an out of area owner, I have never met her. All I know is for the past two years, the 6 homeowners surrounding this property have exhausted all efforts to improve the property and their quality of life. Recently, while walking by “the jungle” I had had it. I memorized the number on the for sale sign and began thinking of how “I was going to solve this problem.” Once I got home, I dialed the number. A very pleasant woman answered the phone. I introduced myself, explained why I was calling. Immediately, I was interrupted. The reply on the other end began to reply “Oh my, I am so sorry. This is one of those things that is Out of Site – Out of mind. Thank you so much for calling. I will call my maintenance guy and have him there asap” Within 24 hours of haning up, the lot was cleared.
This got me thinking. Maybe our code office should first start with the “neighborly approach” to code enforcement. What would happen if they actually called the home owner or knocked on the door to say “We have a problem, here is what needs to be done to correct it” I am not sure what has happened with our country, but it seems like every company has lost site of Customer Service and we are all suffering. Myself, I get so much junk mail that often times, my important mail gets misplaced or tossed out with the junk mail. As neighbors, maybe we can take the extra step to contact property owners before becoming angry and aggressive.
Just a thought.

After much complaining about the living conditions around the Phil Alessi house at Louisiana and Nebraska, the tenants are finally packing up and moving on. For some time, the tenants have been conducting what seemed like an eternal garage sale. After many complaints, the Code Enforcement began putting pressure on the owner. As of Saturday, they were really packing up.