Tom Leek refiles ‘Officer Jason Raynor Act’ to hike penalties for cop killers

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 3/8/24-House Appropriations Chair Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, listens to a question just before the House approved the budget, Friday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

A proposal to enhance penalties for cop killers that failed to pass last year has gained new life under Sen. Tom Leek.

Leek, an Ormond Beach Republican, just re-filed the “Officer Jason Raynor Act.”

If passed, the measure would require defendants convicted of manslaughter in cases involving the death of a police officer to receive life sentences without parole.

The bill (SB 234) is named for Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Rayner, who was fatally shot in 2021. A jury found Rayner’s killer, Othal Wallace, guilty of manslaughter, which today carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence when the crime involves a firearm.

Community outrage followed Wallace’s sentencing. So did legislation last year by Fort Myers Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin and Jacksonville Republican Rep. Jessica Baker, both former Assistant State Attorneys.

But the bills failed. Baker’s version (HB 1657) advanced to the House floor, where it died after its Senate companion (SB 1092) hit a snag in committee.

Leek is now picking up the proverbial baton, and SB 234 is the first bill he’s filed since winning his Senate District 7 seat in November.

“I am proud to file this important legislation to honor the memory of police officer Jason Raynor in his untimely death at the hands of someone who was only sentenced to 30 years instead of life in prison without parole,” Leek said in a prepared statement.

“Those who choose to attack our law enforcement with deadly force must face the consequence of their actions and be held accountable and prosecuted to the highest extent of the law.”

SB 234, to which a House companion is still pending, would amend Florida Statutes to provide that it is not justified to use force to resist lawful detention by a police officer in addition to an existing prohibition on forcefully resisting arrest.

The measure would delete language requiring compliance during an arrest or detainment if an officer is “engaged in the execution of a legal duty (and) acting in good faith.” It would also nix a passage that says use of force during an arrest isn’t justified if the cop knows the arrest is unlawful.

Rayner, 26, was on duty and in uniform when he approached Wallace behind Wallace’s apartment building in Daytona Beach. He asked Wallace, now 33, if he lived there. Wallace countered with a question about what prompted Raynor’s interest in him.

The exchange soon turned physical and, following a short struggle, Wallace drew his gun and shot Raynor in the head. Wallace then fled to Atlanta, where police captured him three days later. Raynor died from his injury 52 days after.

State Attorney R.J. Larizza of the 7th Judicial Circuit pursued a first-degree murder conviction against Wallace, which would have conferred a death penalty or mandatory life sentence. A Clay County jury instead convicted Wallace of manslaughter with a firearm.

In a letter to the Daytona Beach News-Journal last year, Wallace’s defense attorneys, Terry Shoemaker and Tim Pribisco, called the “Officer Jason Raynor Act” unnecessary. They warned that if the bill passes, it would provide “immunity for officers who use force against the citizens regardless of whether the officer is acting in good faith.”

“The citizens of Florida should pay close attention to the specific language of the bill which prohibits a citizen from using force against law enforcement under any circumstance, even if the officer is illegally detaining, illegally arresting or using excessive force,” they wrote.

Leek’s measure would complement other protections lawmakers have given first responders in recent years. That includes measures Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year enabling police to establish a 25-foot protective zone around themselves, with trespassers facing up to 60-day jail sentences, and limiting powers of civilian police oversight boards.

SB 234 would go into effect Oct. 1.