Over the past year, 10 Investigates
has produced dozens of investigations,
including twelve what's
brewing episodes on YouTube.
Uncovering problems,
holding the powerful accountable.
These stories have led to changes
in local policies and state
laws that help to protect you.
Our team never stops working for you.
10 Investigates now takes a look back
at the stories shaping our community.
From the fentanyl epidemic to school safety
to protecting our environment, we want
to show you some of the biggest stories
we've uncovered throughout the year.
Here are ten of our 2022 investigations,
from the ocean to the
springs here in Florida.
We are surrounded by water,
and it's one of our most
treasured resources,
but there's a chance it might
not be that way forever.
We've contaminated with our groundwater
to levels that are said to be safe
to drink by our public health.
Departments but are anywhere from
20 to 100 times or more higher than
the natural levels of nitrogen in
our in our natural groundwater,
unpolluted groundwater.
We also spoke to a former legislator who
drafted laws to protect our springs.
He says the state is not
following the law as intended.
His DEP right now breaking the law.
I don't believe that the DEP right now
has followed through on the directive
of the of the Florida Legislature.
And that's a simple. Left
starting in June and throughout
the summer, we tested the water at
springs across the entire state.
You can see the testing
results in our story at 10.
Tampabay.com/ten investigates
whether it's a canal, neighborhood,
pond, or something larger.
Florida is number one in the nation for
cars and trucks crashing into the water,
but we found only Pinellas County trains
their firefighters for water rescues.
Our average response is 3 to 5 minutes.
So while we're responding to that call,
they're getting into that wet gear,
that water. Metrication
gear for the rapid diver. So
as you saw today, when they get
on scene, they can actually
get somebody out of water within
3 minutes if if they find
that victim quick enough.
The idea is to get them out if
they happen to be trapped in
the car where there's a pocket
of air so they have it buys
them a little more time
so we can actually get in
there, force the doors or whatever
have you, and then get them out.
We also have ways to get air into them.
Now more counties are looking at
funding for water extrication team
training firefighters estimate it
cost between 4 to $5000 to purchase
the initial gear for one diver
and another thousand. Or training.
Training that could save someone's
life when every moment counts. For
three years, archaeologists have
been digging to expose some of the
Tampa Bay areas buried secrets,
hundreds of graves from a raised African
American cemeteries covered by homes,
schools and businesses.
These painful reminders of our
segregated past are now raising
serious questions for the present,
a topic we explore in our
recent special erased this year,
10 Investigates also highlighted
concerns over Tampa Cemetery task force
meetings held behind closed doors and
whether the meetings violate the states.
Sunshine laws by keeping the public out,
many of these grave discoveries have
impacted African American cemeteries,
but there are examples of others.
We showed you how many graves
from the old Saint Mary's Catholic
Cemetery along North Florida Ave.
in Tampa are unaccounted for and could
be here on this vacant school property?
After seeing our report,
an archaeologist at the University
of South Florida added the site
to the state's historic file,
so now it is flagged to help prevent
future development over the site.
Our erased special is streaming
on 10 Tampa Bay plus.
In our most viewed what's
brewing episode of the Year,
we showed you how hidden
camera crimes are on the rise.
We revealed a hidden camera
was found in a Tampa,
VA bathroom and a former Hillsborough
County Public Schools fashion design
teacher was convicted of recording
students in a changing room.
I was completely nude because
it was a fashion design class,
so we literally sewed our own
clothes and made clothing and he
had a fitting room fitting room.
It was like the storage closet in the
teachers classroom that everybody
went in there to try on their pieces.
Make sure it was fitting.
We asked a security expert to
show you how to spot half a dozen
hidden cameras in this kitchen.
Scan the QR code on the right side of
the screen to watch our full episode of
What's Brewing to see what to look out for.
Teachers under Investigation 10
Investigates explored how some teachers
are still in the classroom even after
they were investigated in other school
districts after our story aired Polk County.
Made changes to their hiring policies,
including having the Superintendent
review each affidavit of separation
from previous employers,
looking at personnel files including
discipline and investigations.
I feel like teachers have to be
more aware of who they're teaching,
you know, like.
You know, like it's our second home.
There were signs from the
shooter before this happened.
Four years after a shooting at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,
we uncovered that fewer than half
of the employees in Bay Area School
districts had the required training
to identify troubled students.
We found out there was no deadline
for that mandatory training,
but because of our story,
leaders passed a law.
Now every school district will be required
to notify the Florida Department of
Education that at least 80% of school.
Employees have gotten the mental
health training by July 1st,
2023, and every year after that.
Who's driving the bus?
10 Investigates discovered some
drivers behind the wheel of those
big yellow school buses have
multiple crashes on their records.
911 What is the ohh?
We just witnessed a car hit a bus,
a school bus, and the car is
actually underneath the school bus.
10 Investigates took a deeper dive
into how districts use a point system
to evaluate who can stay on the road
and how that system varies by county.
While a former Bay Area Mosque
youth volunteer awaits trial,
we uncovered there were concerns
at the mosque even before he had
go names 2021 arrest he's accused
of drugging and molesting boys
at his Pinellas Park home.
And on overnight trips.
But before that,
we found that leadership at the
Islamic Society of the Tampa Bay
area was told in 2017 and again
in 2020 about accusations that
Ghonim had inappropriate contact
with boys in another state.
They let him keep volunteering
with kids anyway, Mr.
gone,
what do you have to say to the families?
Mr. Gone there's nothing you
want to say to these boys.
Go names.
Case is expected to go to trial
in February, 8 years after a 63 year
old man died in Tampa police custody
as he had a diabetic emergency.
TPD is making big changes.
What happened to George Floyd
that mobilized the entire world
was the exact same thing that
happened to Arthur Greene junior.
It's the exact same techniques
and the exact same outcome.
We were the 1st to tell you how
TPD agreed to change its restraint
policies as part of an agreement.
With Arthur Green's family,
no hashtags, no viral videos,
but there is dashcam video from a
Tampa police cruiser off Central Ave.
as Green had a diabetic,
emergency officers pulled him from his car,
forced him to the ground and into
handcuffs and alleged restraint.
The medical examiner says he
died of a diabetic episode,
but an independent report says
he died from restraint asphyxia
as officers held him prone.
Under the modified TPD policies,
officers cannot use their weight.
To interfere with someone's breathing,
they have to stop applying weight.
If the person is restrained
and once handcuffed,
they must turn them to the side
or let them sit up as long as
they are not a threat.
This change comes alongside a
major settlement with the city
of Tampa over Green's death.
Chances are you may know someone
struggling with an opioid addiction.
According to Live Tampa Bay,
the overdose rate in our area
is 10% higher than the state
and 50% higher than the nation.
Nearly three people die every day in
the Tampa Bay area from an overdose.
That's why we put together our
10 investigate special overdose,
highlighting the impact of fentanyl
in our communities and the possible
solutions like drug testing strips,
safe places to use and tougher prosecution
for those who deal these deadly drugs.
We don't quite understand the impact
that's happening because we haven't
been able to do the research fast
enough to keep up with the epidemic.
He did not take
those pills intending to die.
He had collapsed on the floor
right outside of the bathroom.
I'm gonna lose my wife.
I'm gonna lose my kids.
I'm gonna lose my job.
I'm gonna be homeless. I might die.
Then we took it a step further
and showed you how drugs can be
here in less than a day after
crossing the US Mexico border.
But Customs and Border protection officers
have a new tool to try to stop it.
Scanning cargo like what you
might find at an airport.
We have shipments of machinery.
Machinery crosses through here.
It's #1 inland port.
So for steel items,
we need something that can penetrate
the steel so we can look inside.
Refrigerated frozen
commodities is another one.
So this high energy,
we can actually see what's inside.
You've probably heard of Narcan by now.
This overdose reversal medication
has been seen as a silver bullet
to save lives, but now a vet.
Tranquilizer called xylazine is
creeping into the drug supply,
and it's making Narcan less effective.
Narcan has no effect on xylazine.
So if someone is overdosing
due to fentanyl and xylazine,
the Narcan will only mitigate the effects
of the fentanyl and not the xylazine.
And So what does that look like in practice?
In practice, it makes the the treatment
and the saving of lives more difficult.
We uncovered that Floridians
have been dying with this drug
in their system for years and
the problem is getting worse.
You can watch our special.
Overdosed in a digital
exclusive with the DEA in Tampa,
streaming now on YouTube
and 10 Tampa Bay plus.
You can also check out all of our
stories from throughout the year at
10 tampabay.com/ten. Investigate,
and if you think there's
something we should look into,
reach out to us e-mail tips at 10
tampabay.com or look for us on social media.
If you'd like to see these stories
in their entirety and many more,
we've made it easy to access on our website.
Just scan the code right here
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A link will pop up and it'll take you
to the 10 big investigations of 2022.