Sheriff, oversight panel dispute âMarsyâs Lawâ ruling
Published: May 13, 2021 11:17 PM EDT
Updated: May 13, 2021 11:20 PM EDT
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A prominent sheriff and a Miami police oversight panel are backing a challenge to an appeals-court ruling that could help shield the identities of law-enforcement officers involved in use-of-force incidents.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel this week said they plan to file friend-of-the-court briefs at the Florida Supreme Court in a dispute about whether a 2018 constitutional amendment known as âMarsyâs Lawâ can prevent the release of officersâ names.
Marsyâs Law bolstered victimsâ rights, and a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled last month that privacy protections in the constitutional amendment can apply to two Tallahassee police officers. Those officers argued they were victims because they were threatened in incidents that
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In the April 6 appeals-court decision, Judge Lori Rowe wrote that nothing in Marsy’s Law “excludes law enforcement officers - or other government employees - from the protections granted crime victims.”
A prominent sheriff and a Miami police oversight panel are backing a challenge to an appeals-court ruling that could help shield the identities of law-enforcement officers involved in use-of-force incidents.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel this week said they plan to file friend-of-the-court briefs at the Florida Supreme Court in a dispute about whether a 2018 constitutional amendment known as “Marsy’s Law” can prevent the release of officers’ names.
By Gordon Byrd
May 13, 2021
TALLAHASSEE A sheriff from the Tampa Bay area and a Miami police oversight panel may challenge a ruling that could keep secret the names of officers who use deadly force.
A three judge panel at the 1st District Appeals Court ruled last month that two Tallahassee police officers can claim a right to privacy as crime victims under Marsy s Law, because they were threatened with a deadly weapon before using force.
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel plan to file briefs of their own against the decision, when the case goes to the State Supreme Court. Opponents of the ruling say it could undermine sunshine laws and efforts by the community to hold police accountable through public records.
By Gordon Byrd
May 13, 2021
TALLAHASSEE A sheriff from the Tampa Bay area and a Miami police oversight panel may challenge a ruling that could keep secret the names of officers who use deadly force.
A three judge panel at the 1st District Appeals Court ruled last month that two Tallahassee police officers can claim a right to privacy as crime victims under Marsy s Law, because they were threatened with a deadly weapon before using force.
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel plan to file briefs of their own against the decision, when the case goes to the State Supreme Court. Opponents of the ruling say it could undermine sunshine laws and efforts by the community to hold police accountable through public records.
“That a use of force is justified does not shield the identity of the person using it from public view,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri’s attorneys wrote in the document.