Topher Sanders
I report on injustice of any kind, but particularly in race, inequality and the legal system.
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What I Cover
I report on injustice of any kind, but particularly in race, inequality and the legal system. I’m focused on how the second Trump administration will impact justice in America, but I’m always looking for under-covered stories that affect everyday folks.
My Background
In 2023, I was part of a team of reporters that exposed the challenges communities face when freight trains block railroad crossings for days, endangering schoolchildren. Before that, my colleagues and I produced the multipart investigation “Walking While Black,” which explored how jaywalking citations are disproportionately given to Black pedestrians, and was part of a team that probed President Trump’s family separation policy. The former won the Al Nakkula award while the latter won Peabody and George Polk awards and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
My work has spurred grand juries and investigations into prosecutors, changed federal rules and forced police departments to drop charges against the unlawfully arrested.
In 2016 I co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit working to increase the number of investigative reporters and editors of color. I am a graduate of Tuskegee University and I started my journalism career at the Montgomery Advertiser in Alabama.
You can send me feedback, story tips and documents via email at [email protected], or by Signal or WhatsApp at 904-254-0393
Local Lawmakers and Civil Rights Groups Call for Suspending Pedestrian Tickets in Jacksonville
Concerns about targeted enforcement against African Americans come after a Florida Times-Union/ProPublica investigation.
One Officer, Scores of Tickets and a Familiar Racial Disparity
C.J. Brown wrote four times as many pedestrian tickets as any other officer in Jacksonville over the last five years. Most of them went to blacks. His boss says he’s just “good at his job.”
How (Not) to Cross the Street in Jacksonville
The city’s population is 29 percent black, but black pedestrians received 55 percent of the pedestrian tickets issued from 2012 to July 2017. Looking at each type of ticket issued reveals even bigger disparities.
The Ticketed Feel Targeted
A truck driver, a mother, a lawyer and a number of young men offer their accounts of walking while black.
Misdemeanor Defendants Facing Jail Time Not Told They Have a Right to Counsel, Bar Association Finds
American Bar Association monitors report misdemeanor defendants in Nashville often aren’t told they are entitled to a lawyer even when their charges mean they could end up behind bars.
A Wisconsin Republican Looks Back With Regret at Voter ID and Redistricting Fights
Republican efforts to impose voter ID laws and redraw election districts both wound up in federal court. Dale Schultz ended 30 years in state politics lamenting the recent displays of partisanship.
Confusion Over Drug Tests Highlights Lack of Training for Florida Officers
A series of embarrassments suggests Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office could use some instruction on using and interpreting field tests that have resulted in thousands of drug arrests in recent years.
Failing the Smell Test
Records suggest Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office trained drug-sniffing dogs with material that wasn’t drugs.
