By Rene Stutzman
Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO — An Orlando legislator is pushing for a mandatory state investigation every time a Florida police officer or deputy kills someone.
“It’s a problem nationally. It’s a problem throughout the state of Florida. It’s a problem locally,” said State Sen. Geraldine Thompson. “It’s a problem that has to be dealt with.”
Her bill (SB 810) would require police agencies to notify the Florida Department of Law Enforcement within 24 hours of when an officer or deputy kills someone. FDLE would then investigate.
Currently, some law enforcement agencies ask FDLE to investigate fatal shootings and high-profile cases in which an officer has used force, but that’s not required.
Thompson’s bill would change that. It matches a House version (HB933) that was filed in November by Rep. Shervin Jones, D-Broward County.
They plan to hold a news conference Tuesday in Tallahassee.
“The public doesn’t have confidence that law enforcement agencies do things thoroughly,” said Thompson, a Democrat who is currently running for Congress against former Orlando Police Chief Val Demings.
Thompson introduced the bill, she said, because of a spate of high-profile cases in which officers used force, sometimes lethal, against young black men.
One was Corey Jones, 31, a church drummer who was fatally shot by a white Palm Beach Gardens officer following the breakdown of his car on Interstate 95 on Oct. 18.
Thompson also pointed to an Orlando Sentinel investigation, published in November, that found a disproportionate number of blacks were subjected to all types of force by the Orlando Police Department.
From Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2014, OPD officers shot 30 people, 20 of them black, the Sentinel found. Ten were fatal. Of those, seven were black.
During that same period, OPD officers used non-lethal force, such things as chemical spray, stun guns or bodily force, including punches or tackles, on more than 3,100 people. In 55 percent of the cases, the suspect was black, although 28 percent of Orlando’s population is black, the Sentinel found.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina has previously defended the agency, saying officers were not targeting black suspects.
Heather Fagan, deputy chief of staff for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, said earlier that 55 percent of all suspects arrested by Orlando police 2010-2014 were black.
Thompson’s bill is opposed by the Florida Sheriffs Association. In a prepared statement, association president Sheriff Sadie Darnell of Alachua County called it “an unrealistic mandate.”
“The Florida Sheriff’s Association believes that Florida sheriffs are more than capable of impartially investigating these cases and will continue to do so in a fair and thoughtful manner.”
Mina was unavailable for comment Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a public holiday.
The bill has the support of the NAACP of Florida, Thompson said. It’s expected to be debated by the Senate’s Criminal Justice committee in early to mid-February, she said.
‘Not necessary’
Another bill pending in Tallahassee would force law enforcement agencies to accurately and uniformly report each instance of deadly force in which someone was seriously hurt or killed and provide details, including the race of the suspect who subjected to force.
Currently there is no state or federal reporting requirement. Many Florida law enforcement agencies do document those cases in internal and investigative records that are public, but the information they collect can vary widely from agency to agency.
Under the proposed bills, (SB 1012 and HB 1115) all agencies would have to report the same details, including the name, age, race, sex and religious affiliation of the suspect who was subjected to force, as well as the location, date and time of the incident.
The law enforcement agency would also have to report why an employee used deadly force, the crime the subject was suspected of and all non-lethal efforts employees tried before resorting to deadly force.
The House version was filed by Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando.
It also would require the agency to track what happens following a deadly force case and report whether the agency was sued, paid a settlement or went to trial.
The Senate version was introduced by Dwight Bullard, a Democrat who represents Monroe County and part of Miami-Dade.
Both versions of the bill require police agencies to file the information four times a year to FDLE.
The sheriffs association opposes that, too.
“The arbitrary reporting requirements created by these bills are not necessary,” Darnell said.
Copyright 2016 The Orlando Sentinel