Renzo Downey
The House is set to vote next week on bipartisan legislation to prevent excessive use of force by police officers.
Despite the quick turnaround on the legislation, which wasn’t submitted until last week, the bill (HB 7051) is the product of months of negotiations between House leadership, the Florida Legislative Black Caucus and stakeholders like law enforcement.
Lawmakers throughout the committee process approved the measure, carried by Reps. Cord Byrd, a Republican, and Fentrice Driskell, a Democrat, unanimously.
Proponents say the bipartisan measure would help restore public trust in the police.
This month, lawmakers have considered the anti-riot bill (HB 1), Republicans’ measure against violent protests that Democrats and other critics say would disproportionately affect minority protesters.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed that measure into law Monday, the day before a Minnesota court convicted Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd when he knelt on his neck in May. That killing sparked the protests, some of which turned violent, that prompted DeSantis to ask for legislation.
Byrd, the police reform bill’s primary sponsor, has been working on that legislation since civilians in Georgia fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was unarmed and on a jog, in February 2020.
In an interview with Florida Politics, Byrd acknowledged the national conversation around law enforcement and freedom of speech. The the anti-riot and policing bills’ overarching theme is “public safety,” the Neptune Beach Republican said.
“For those people who are exercising their First Amendment rights and those people who are engaging in criminal activities, we’re going to draw a bright line between those two,” Byrd added. “Part and parcel of that is how law enforcement acts and responds when they engage with citizens.”
The police reform bill would call for basic training on proportional use of force, including de-escalation techniques and intervening in another officer’s excessive use of force and chokeholds. Chokeholds, which became central to national conversations around the use of force after Floyd’s death, could only be used when an “officer perceives an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death to themselves or another person,” the bill outlines.
Amendments added Friday would clarify that law enforcement agencies could make more stringent policies, including banning chokeholds if they choose.
Additionally, pending applicants for law enforcement and correctional officer positions would have to disclose any pending investigation against them and whether they resigned from their previous role during an investigation. Agencies would keep records on past officers for at least five years after the officer leaves the agency.
Each law enforcement agency must also, each quarter, report data on use of force that results in injury, death or discharge of a firearm.
The legislation also creates the “Kaia Rolle Act,” which would prevent children younger than 7 from being arrested or charged with crimes that aren’t forcible felonies. Both chambers passed similar legislation last year, but the broader school safety bill that contained that language died on the regular Session’s final day after the then-developing COVID-19 pandemic helped derail negotiations.
On the House floor, Byrd recognized Democrats and their bills that became part of the final package. Legislation from Driskell, Democratic Leader Bobby Dubose, and Reps. Tracie Davis, Nicholas Duran, Christine Hunschofsky, Dotie Joseph, Travaris McCurdy, Anika Omphroy, Geraldine Thompson and Patricia Williams covered employment standards, training, chokeholds, the duty to intervene, medical assistance, use of force data and the minimum age for arrest.
There is no direct companion measure on the Senate side. However, Senate President Wilton Simpson last week told reporters he would reference that bill directly to one committee, as he did with the anti-riot bill. Senators have been working with the House on negotiating the policing deal, he added.
“I believe we will be very satisfied with the bill they send us,” Simpson said.
