How will police agencies set out to implement Florida’s newly enacted law?
Law enforcement agencies across South Florida on Monday began figuring out how to enforce Florida’s new anti-riot law while trying not to restrict people’s right to demonstrate.
The new law has been touted as the strongest antiriot, pro-law enforcement legislation in the country. It was signed into law in Florida as an on-edge nation awaits the verdict in the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Dean Trantalis, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, said the city has no intention of stifling free speech and freedom of assembly — something that critics of the measure believe the law will do. Local lawmakers such as Trantalis and Broward Mayor Steve Geller say the law pushed through by Gov. Ron DeSantis could do much more harm than good.
“I’m not terribly supportive of the [law], because I don’t believe it is going to accomplish what its proponents expect of it,” Trantalis said.
Trantalis said he believes there will be many unintended consequences. “We in Fort Lauderdale will continue to embrace the First Amendment as long as it is peaceful.
“... It’s perplexing. We understand the need for order but we already have those laws in place.”
Reviewing the law
The so-called anti-riot bill passed by the state Legislature became law Monday — not July 1, when most passed legislation becomes law — effectively not giving police and local governments, police chiefs and sheriffs much time to digest the 61-page bill, much less train police officers and deputies.
How South Florida police agencies will set out to implement the newly enacted law remains unclear. Many agencies the South Florida Sun Sentinel contacted Monday said they were having their legal teams review the law. Other agencies such as the sheriff ’s offices in Broward and Palm Beach counties declined to answer any questions Monday.
The law grants more power to curb civil unrest.
DeSantis, when signing the bill, said the timing was important because of the pending verdict in the case against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The jury headed into deliberation after nearly a full day in court Monday. The trial started three weeks ago.
Planning to lock up rioters
The trial comes at a critical juncture in America because Floyd’s death set off summer protests calling for racial justice across the county. Demonstrations in South Florida were mostly peaceful, though some businesses in Fort Lauderdale were damaged and police used tear gas, and fired into crowds with rubber bullets.
Jeff Bell, the suspended leader of the Broward Sheriff ’s Office Union, called the bill an exceptional piece of legislation.
The new law enhances penalties for crimes such as looting committed during a demonstration. It also says that anyone arrested must see a judge before being let out. “If you riot, you are going to go to jail. You are going to have to spend the night in jail,” DeSantis said in January.
With the legislation decided on mostly by party line, Democrats argued that the bill was designed to silence and penalize those speaking out against racial injustice.
But Bell disagreed. It’s an “outstanding piece of legislation that would put law-abiding citizens at ease when faced with a mob surrounding their vehicle and not knowing if they are protected under the law of self defense or not,” Bell said. “This clearly places law-abiding citizens above rioters, which is completely different from protesters.”
Is the law too broad?
But is it really a good law? Steve Geller, the mayor of Broward County, is opposed to rioting, but thinks the law is too broad. Its interpretation will vary widely between urban areas such as Broward County and rural areas such as Baker County in North Florida, said Geller, an attorney who spent 20 years in the Florida House and Senate.
The new law describes a riot as a public disturbance of three or more people in a disorderly or violent way. The law creates the crime of aggravated rioting where nine or more people are assembled and are creating harm to property or people.
Someone charged with rioting would now face 15 years in prison, up from five.
Of any lawsuit that would challenge the new law, Geller said, “There is nothing we can do about this except hope that some of the lawsuits are successful.”