Citizen boards that flourished after George Floyd's killing face new limits in Florida

TALLAHASSEE – Citizen oversight boards would be limited to advising on law enforcement policies and procedures, and not the actions of individual officers, under legislation heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The change by the Republican-controlled Legislature dials back an earlier approach that would have banned the citizens boards in the 21 Florida cities that have them.

But it still imposes new limits and would require these boards to be re-established under county sheriffs who would appoint several members of the panels.

The measure drew heated debate Thursday in the state House, where many Black lawmakers cited the well-known history of encounters between cops and minority citizens that go horribly wrong.

“We don’t believe the police can best investigate the police,” said Rep. Christopher Benjamin, D-Miami Gardens.

The bill (HB 601) was approved 81-28 in a mostly party-line vote by the House after clearing the Senate last week, 32-0.

Boards can exist, but new limits imposed

“The boards can continue to exist and there are things they can continue to do,” said Rep. Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, sponsor of the measure. “But they cannot investigate allegations of misconduct against individual officers.”

Duggan said there are several state agencies, ranging from state attorney’s offices to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI, that are charged with such investigations, along with police internal affairs agencies.

A goal of the citizens’ boards is to hold law enforcement more accountable, and to restore trust in communities often wary of police. About half of the boards in Florida formed following the death of George Floyd in 2020 at the hands of Minneapolis police.

More: Supreme Court declines appeal from Derek Chauvin to review conviction in George Floyd murder

Related: Florida Legislature passes 'no-go' zone around first responders despite transparency concerns

But their scope already is limited. Most are confined to investigating and issuing independent reports that follow a law enforcement agency’s own internal affairs probe.

Now, if signed by DeSantis, as expected, these boards will be further confined.

A divide over Black Lives Matter

These boards have been swept up in the political divide over the Black Lives Matter movement, and Republican supermajorities in the Florida House and Senate reflect the split shown in polling.

A Pew Research Center survey last year found that 84% of Democrats and those leaning Democratic support the Black Lives Matter movement, while 82% of Republicans and those who lean GOP oppose it.

Florida cities with oversight boards include Daytona Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Key West, Orlando, Tallahassee, West Palm Beach and Tampa.

St. Petersburg’s board has been around since 1991. Miami has had some kind of oversight panel since surrounding Miami-Dade County began one in 1980 after four police officers were cleared of criminal charges in the death of motorist Arthur McDuffie.

John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 2024 Session: Citizens' police oversight boards limited by Legislature