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[[Jerry Demings]] became the OPD's first African-American chief in 1998, and served until 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Married cops to head next-door agencies |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28841683 |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=2022-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513095645/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28841683 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The police department has managed, along with local radio program [[The Monsters in the Morning]] on [[WTKS-FM]],{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} a "no questions asked" gun exchange for gift cards or sports shoes. In August, 2007, a man turned in an item first identified as a rocket launcher resulting in international publicity.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293666,00.html | work=Fox News | title=Florida Cops Get Missile Launcher in 'Kicks for Guns' Exchange | date=August 17, 2007 | access-date=August 18, 2007 | archive-date=March 9, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309002531/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293666,00.html | url-status=livedead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1280391,00.html |title=Amnesty: Rocket Launcher Swapped For Trainers {{!}}|work=Sky News{{!}}World News<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2007-08-18 |archive-date=2007-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821160058/http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1280391,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Police get missile launcher during gun-shoe exchange | date=2007-08-20 | url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/2007/08/20/119161/Police-get.htm | work=China Post | access-date=2007-08-21 | archive-date=2007-09-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030615/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/2007/08/20/119161/Police-get.htm | url-status=livedead }}</ref> The item was later determined to be an ''empty'' carrying case for a [[BGM-71 TOW|TOW missile]] and its launcher.<ref>{{citeCite news |date=2007-08-24 |title=Item first identified as a missile'Missile launcher' is actually a carryingweapon case | datelanguage=2007en-08-21GB | url=http://wwwnews.bbc.orlandosentinelco.comuk/community2/newshi/ocoeeamericas/orl-launcher2107aug21,0,60514786953374.storystm | work=Orlando Sentinel BBC| access-date=2007-08-31 | archive-date=2022-05-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523005144/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
Orlando's first female police chief, [[Val Demings]], was appointed in 2007. Her husband and former police chief Jerry was elected [[Orange County Sheriff's Office (Florida)|Sheriff of Orange County]] in 2008: his opponent mentioned his wife's position as a potential conflict of interest. Violent crime in Orlando decreased drastically during her tenure as chief.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stevens |first=Dennis J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/972308950 |title=An introduction to American policing |date=2018 |isbn=978-1-284-11011-1 |edition=Second edition2 |location=Burlington, MA |oclc=972308950 |p=209 |access-date=2022-05-22 |archive-date=2022-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523005145/https://www.worldcat.org/title/introduction-to-american-policing/oclc/972308950 |url-status=live }}</ref> Demings retired on June 1, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-05-03 |title=Orlando's First Female Police Chief Val Demings, Retires |url=https://westorlandonews.com/orlandos-first-female-police-chief-val-demings-retires/ |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=West Orlando News |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523005145/https://westorlandonews.com/orlandos-first-female-police-chief-val-demings-retires/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
A 2008 ''[[Orlando Weekly]]'' exposé described the Orlando Police Department as "a place where rogue cops operate with impunity, and there's nothing anybody who finds himself at the wrong end of their short fuse can do about it."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Billman|first=Jeffrey C.|date=July 10, 2008|title=MIGHT MAKES RIGHT|url=https://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/might-makes-right/Content?oid=2273944|access-date=June 4, 2020|website=[[Orlando Weekly]]|language=en-us|archive-date=June 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604135653/https://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/might-makes-right/Content?oid=2273944|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2015 article about Val Deming's congressional campaign in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' stated that the Orlando Police Department "has a long record of excessive-force allegations, and a lack of transparency on the subject, dating back at least as far as Demings's time as chief."<ref name="auto" /> Demings responded with an op-ed in the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'', writing, "Looking for a negative story in a police department is like looking for a prayer at church", adding, "It won't take long to find one." In the same op-ed, she cast doubt on video evidence that conflicts with officers' statements in excessive force cases, writing, "a few seconds (even of video) rarely capture the entire set of circumstances."<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Jack |title=Orlando Police Complaints in the Spotlight as African-American Ex-Chief Runs for Congress |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/orlando-police-complaints-in-the-spotlight-as-african-american-ex-chief-runs-for-congress/443526/ |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |publisher=[[Emerson Collective]] |location=Boston, Massachusetts |date=September 8, 2015 |access-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-date=November 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110105711/http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/orlando-police-complaints-in-the-spotlight-as-african-american-ex-chief-runs-for-congress/443526/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2010, an Orlando police officer flipped 84-year-old [[World War II]] veteran Daniel Daley over his shoulder after the man became belligerent, throwing him to the ground and breaking a vertebra in his neck.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/orlando-policeman-breaks-84-year-olds-neck?news=841491|title=Orlando Policeman Breaks 84-Year-Old's Neck|date=September 24, 2010|website=allgov.com|access-date=May 23, 2022|archive-date=February 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223195747/http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/orlando-policeman-breaks-84-year-olds-neck?news=841491|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=When Val Demings Stood by Police Officers Accused of Excessive Force|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/11/demings-vp-police-356573|access-date=2022-05-23|website=POLITICO|language=en|first1=Matt|last1=Dixon|first2=Maya|last2=King|date=2020-07-11|archive-date=2022-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426203428/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/11/demings-vp-police-356573|url-status=live}}</ref> Daley alleged excessive force and filed a lawsuit. The police department cleared the officer as "justified" in using a "hard take down" to arrest Daley, concluding he used the technique correctly even though he and the other officer made conflicting statements. Demings said "the officer performed the technique within department guidelines" but also that her department had "begun the process of reviewing the use of force policy and will make appropriate modifications." A federal jury ruled in Daley's favor and awarded him $880,000 in damages.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Orlando police officer found liable in excessive force trial |url=https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2012/08/17/orlando-police-officer-found-liable-in-excessive-force-trial/ |website=Click Orlando |access-date=August 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605225619/https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2012/08/17/orlando-police-officer-found-liable-in-excessive-force-trial/ |url-status=live |date=2012-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hernandez |first1=Arelis |title=Confrontation with Orlando cop leaves 84-year-old vet with broken neck, son says |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2010-09-22-os-police-break-senior-neck-20100919-story.html |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]] |location=Orlando, Florida |date=September 22, 2010 |access-date=September 22, 2010 |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606050528/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2010-09-22-os-police-break-senior-neck-20100919-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cop Who Broke Elderly Man's Neck Cleared |url=https://www.wftv.com/news/cop-who-broke-elderly-mans-neck-cleared/286538333/ |website=WFTV 9 |date=October 15, 2010 |access-date=October 15, 2010 |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608215543/https://www.wftv.com/news/cop-who-broke-elderly-mans-neck-cleared/286538333/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Palm |first1=Anika Myers |last2=Pacheco |first2=Walter |title=OPD Chief Val Demings: Takedown move that broke elderly man's neck 'within department guidelines' |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2010-10-15-os-opd-review-takedown-technique-20101015-story.html |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=October 15, 2010 |access-date=May 30, 2020 |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305145925/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2010-10-15-os-opd-review-takedown-technique-20101015-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[John W. Mina]] was chief of police from 2014 to 2018. The OPD together with the [[Orange County Sheriff's Office (Florida)|Orange County Sheriff's Office]] responded to the [[Orlando nightclub shooting]] in 2016. An OPD officer ultimately shot and killed shooter [[Omar Mateen]] after he fired on the responding officers.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=AnneClaire |last2=Stapleton |first2=Ralph |date=2016-06-12 |title=Timeline of Orlando nightclub shooting |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-shooting-timeline/index.html |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=2019-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412223600/https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-shooting-timeline/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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