Bills hiking penalties for cop killers are again advancing in Florida

Jessica Baker introduces HB 245 to tighten immigration enforcement in Florida detention facilities through partnerships with ICE.

Legislation to ensure that cop killers in Florida get their just desserts is again moving toward passage in the Capitol.

Lawmakers in both chambers of the Legislature voted unanimously to advance bills (SB 234, HB 175) to enhance penalties for manslaughter when it involves a law enforcement officer.

Both proposals are called the “Officer Jason Rainer Act” after Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Rayner, who was fatally shot on June 23, 2021. He was just 26.

Prosecutors sought a first-degree murder conviction for Rayner’s killer, Othal Wallace, who resisted lawful detainment by Rainer, forced a physical confrontation and in less than 30 seconds pulled a gun and shot Rayner in the head.

Jurors found Wallace guilty of a lesser manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence when the crime involves a firearm.

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

But the bills failed. Now Baker is back with an updated version of the measure, and St. Augustine Republican Tom Leek is carrying its Senate companion.

Both are now one vote from a floor vote in their respective chambers.

If passed, the legislation would add manslaughter to the list of crimes — including first- and second- degree murder, and attempted murder — against a police officer for which the mandatory minimum sentence is life imprisonment without parole.

It would also eliminate statutory language to clarify that a person cannot resist an officer with violence or the threat of violence when the officer is performing his or her official duties.

That change is necessary, Baker said, because “jurors can get confused” when interpreting the relevant statutes as they’re currently listed, and defendants have used that confusion to their advantage.

“What we’re doing with this bill is we’re removing the confusing language and we’re replacing it with language that the court has held it to mean in more laymen’s terms,” she said when explaining her bill Thursday to the House Criminal Justice Committee.

Leek, a lawyer, offered a similar explanation to members of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice the day before.

“This legislation puts the determination of who was at fault during a police interaction where it belongs: fully in the hands of the court,” he said.

Leek and Baker both heard from their Democratic colleagues about negative impacts the bill could have.

Tamarac Rep. Rosalind Osgood, a former Broward County School Board member who now leads a community-revitalization nonprofit, expressed concern that removing statute language clarifying that it’s lawful to resist unlawful arrests could create problems for people she represents.

Davie Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a criminal defense lawyer, also took exception with the change, which he argued may lead people to believe that there is no defense for an illegal arrest or use of force. He suggested substitute language to Baker, who agreed to consider it.

It was similarly a point of contention for Aaron Wayt of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, who spoke at both hearings this week. Wayt said his organization agrees with the overarching aim of the legislation, but can’t support it as-written because the existing statute language helps to curb bad police behavior. Deleting it, he said, could embolden “bad apples.”

“So, if an officer is doing something that they know is unlawful … and in bad faith, as (this legislation is) written, that officer then can use as much force s they want and we — us, the citizens — are powerless to do anything,” he said. “That can’t be what good law enforcement (and) prosecutors want.”

Leek and Baker maintained that while the changes their bills contemplate would affect the one statute, language elsewhere in Florida law and language used in jury instructions would still guarantee that defendants could raise self-defense claims.

Organizations supporting the “Officer Jason Rainer Act” include the Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Police Chiefs Association, Florida Smart Justice Alliance, Gun Owners of America, Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, Florida Police Benevolent Association, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association.

SB 234 will next go to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee. HB 175 awaits a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.