Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Friday that will restrict civilian review boards from investigating local law enforcement officers and outlaw “harassment” of active-duty first responders. DeSantis stated that the review board provision (HB 601) would “kibosh” those cities with activist-stacked boards.
“They’re not free to use law enforcement as political pinatas,” DeSantis said while at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in St. Augustine. “They’re not free to create false narratives. They’re not free just to make it miserable to work in uniform. And these things are highly political.”
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“These men and women do not need to be scrutinized again and again by a committee that has no idea what they’re talking about,” said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass added.
The law was approved during the legislative session that ended on March 8.
Critics, such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, supported civilian review boards as providing openness in police activity and fostering confidence between communities and law enforcement agencies.
The law will apply to at least 21 localities that have citizen review boards. Cities with similar boards include Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Key West, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.
The bill will allow sheriffs to form “civilian oversight” bodies to assess law enforcement agencies’ policies and practices. Each board would have three to seven members appointed by the sheriff. One of the members would need to be a retired police officer.
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The measure will take effect on July 1. The other bill enacted Friday (SB 184) will make it illegal to “harass” law enforcement personnel, correctional probation officers, firefighters, and emergency medical service professionals.
Under the law, which goes into effect on January 1, people who come within 25 feet of first responders after being warned not to harass or interfere with their jobs would face a second-degree misdemeanor penalty.
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