Republican Candidate's Controversial Remarks & More on Tonight's MetroFocus on THIRTEEN

The award-winning series MetroFocus premieres new episodes in the New York and tri-state region weeknights at 5 p.m. on WLIW21, 5:30 p.m. on NJTV and 6 p.m. on THIRTEEN. All episodes are available at metrofocus.org following the broadcast.

Friday, October 14 at 5:00 p.m. on WLIW21, 5:30 p.m. on NJTV and 6:00 p.m. on THIRTEEN

Republican Candidate?s Controversial Remarks - New Yorkers in Harlem are furious with Jon Girodes, the Republican candidate running to represent their district in the New York State Senate. These feelings ignited after the candidate made promises to serve racially stereotypical food at a local campaign event. Residents of New York's 30th District, a primarily Black community, are making it completely clear that they don't approve of the Girodes' comments to serve ?Kool-Aid, KFC, and Watermelons.? NBC 4 I-Team Investigative Reporter, Sarah Wallace broke the story and tonight, joins us to tell us more.

Central Park Crimewave - What once was a place for New Yorkers to enjoy the simple pleasures of nature in the middle of a bustling Manhattan has now become the dangerous backdrop for a number of robberies, assaults, and gang violence. Cell phone robbery and brutal assaults by roaming gangs have been on the rise in Central Park, with multiple incidents reported in the past month. This week, a woman in the park was robbed and assaulted before she managed to get away during an attempted rape. Her alleged assailant was arrested two days later after authorities tracked him down by using the victim's "Find My iPhone" app. Luckily, that story has a better ending than most, but the public still remains on edge as these crimes become a trend, despite the fact that police say crime is down for the year in Central Park by about 35 percent. New York City Park Advocates' Geoffrey Croft joins us to make sense of the statistics and share how the police plan to ensure the public's safety.

The Virtual Training of Tomorrow's Police - Tensions are hitting an all-time high in police forces across the country as countless videos come to light showing police shootings of unarmed black men. As Americans grow more irate over daily headlines, the debate over the use of force has come to the forefront of policing. Some veteran cops are even admitting to feeling uneasy when they don their badges, but what is the next generation of this occupation thinking? Tonight, MetroFocus' William Jones heads to Monroe College in the Bronx where their criminal justice program is moving away from textbook learning in favor of putting their students on the virtual front lines