


Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has signed a bill that removed civilian review boards from overseeing complaints against law enforcement.
HB 601 will affect 21 jurisdictions in Florida where civilians are currently in charge of investigations into local police officers when a complaint is filed against them. Instead, review boards such as these will require that Sheriffs and Police Chiefs instate fellow law enforcement to look into these complaints.
“It really puts the kibosh on these extra judicial investigations against law enforcement,” DeSantis said of the new law on Friday. “We view that as very much a political weapon. We don’t think that that will contribute to public safety at all. In fact, we think that that would hurt public safety, and so this bill really stops that from happening.”
The governor suggested that these new board will offer “peace of mind” to those uniformed officers that will no longer feel like “the deck is stacked against them.”
Additionally, DeSantis signed legislation that makes it a crime to harass first responders. Anyone interfering within 25 feet of a crime scene could now be charged with a a second degree misdemeanor.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“You continue to prove and set the standard that we live in the most law enforcement-friendly state in the United States of America,” St. John County Sheriff Robert Hardwick said to DeSantis.
Florida maintains a strong retention as its police departments are 7% vacant for sworn deputies, a 10% vacancy for corrections officers, and a 26% vacancy for dispatchers, according to its latest report.