VOLUME 6 ISSUE 32
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NAM Princess Pg B2 AUGUST 8 - 14, 2025
Ocala to target rising pedestrian, bicycle fatalities
Final days of anguish and anxiety Jail inmate’s mental struggles went untreated before death, records show. By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
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he city of Ocala is launching an education and enforcement initiative aimed at pumping the brakes on the rising number of pedestrian and traffic fatalities in Marion County. Using a $47,099 grant from the University of North Florida's Institute of Police Technology and Management, backed by the Florida Department of Transportation, the city will fund overtime for Ocala Police Department officers to conduct targeted educational and enforcement operations in high-risk areas through May 8, 2026. The grant, accepted by the City Council on Aug. 5, will fund the city’s response to traffic fatality data from the "Pedestrian and Bicycle High Visibility Enforcement and Support Grant" document that shows in 2023, Florida recorded
ewly released records indicate that a woman inmate at the Marion County Jail whose death was reportedly due to “complications from epilepsy” had numerous altercations with corrections officers during which she was repeatedly hit with pepper spray while struggling with apparent psychotic episodes. Maniesa Fletcher, 29, died after being jailed on misdemeanor charges stemming from an alleged $13.95 shoplifting incident at an Ocala convenience store. An altercation with corrections officers in the jail led to felony charges against her. Fletcher died at AdventHealth Ocala Hospital on March 14 after being transferred from the jail. Fletcher’s brother said the family had been notified by the Marion County Sheriff ’s Office that Fletcher was brain dead the day before she was pronounced deceased at the hospital. Fletcher had been held at the jail since Sept. 10, 2024, first on the petty theft-related charges. While in jail, the incident with corrections officers on Sept. 19, 2024, in the infirmary led to charges of assault on a law enforcement officer and depriving an officer of a weapon or communication device. Fletcher is the 31st person to die in MCSO custody since 2021. Nationally, an average of about 1.40 deaths per 1,000 incarcerated people occur annually, according to the National Institutes of Health. The annual average at the
See Police operations, page A8
See Maniesa Fletcher, page A4
Officer Cheyenne Bower of the Ocala Police Department operates a handheld radar gun as she checks the speed of traffic on South Pine Avenue in Ocala on Dec. 20, 2021. [File photo by Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
New grant will fund high-visibility police operations along dangerous traffic corridors. By Jamie Berube jamie@ocalagazette.com
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Maniesa Fletcher, 29, died in the custody of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on March 14. [Facebook]
Care and support for seniors The Ocala/Marion County Mobile Integrated Senior Crisis Response Team is a collaboration of more than 20 area agencies. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
T Marion Senior Services Executive Director Jennifer Martinez. [Photo by Andy Fillmore/ Ocala Gazette]
he Ocala/Marion County Mobile Integrated Senior Crisis Response Team got a big thumbs up from a state senator for its role in aiding elders in distress at a recent gathering in Ocala. The make-up and work of the senior crisis team was explained to Sen. Darryl Rouson (D, District 16) in a slide presentation and
round table discussion on July 31 at Marion Senior Services, which included team members. Rouson’s district 16 encompasses portions of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. His committee assignments include the Children, Families and Elders Committee, according to flsenate.gov He has been visiting groups statewide looking for models of help teams aimed at resolving nonlaw enforcement type crises
encountered by seniors. The senior crisis team is a collaboration of members of more than 20 local agencies, including MSS, Marion County Sheriff ’s Office, Ocala Police Department, Marion County Fire Rescue, Ocala Fire Rescue, SMA Healthcare and Hospice of Marion County. The OFR and MCFR Community Paramedic programs are an integral part of the senior crisis See Care and support, page A4
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Improving literacy........................ A2 FPA awards.................................... A7 National Night Out...................... B1 ‘Art of Aging’.................................. B4 Calendar......................................... B6
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