Sheriff ’s Office updates force policy to include ‘duty to intervene’

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office last week updated its use of force policy to include, in writing, that deputies have a “duty to intervene” if they see or anticipate excessive force being used by their colleagues.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina on Saturday spoke to a crowd in Orlando protesting police brutality and pervasive racism, following the shocking death of George Floyd in Minneapolis after an officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Mina told local demonstrators he made the change after watching the video of Floyd’s killing.

“After I saw that horrible video and the other officers just standing there, I went to my staff and I said, ‘How can this happen? Don’t we have policies and training to intervene when we see excessive force.’” Mina said. While OCSO did have training in place about intervening, Mina said, it wasn’t in the policies, so it was added last Tuesday.

Now, at the top of the OCSO use of force policy there is a line that says, “Deputies have a duty to intervene if they anticipate or observe the unreasonable, unnecessary or disproportionate use of force.”

“That’s my first change,” Mina said. “I will look at our policies, I will make change where needed based on input from the community.

Many at the rally said the change was a start, but not enough.

Other law enforcement agencies across the country have made such additions or edits to their policies, including the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Last week, Mina said his agency would review an incident in which a deputy shattered a driver’s window after pulling her over as she left a peaceful George Floyd protest. Deputies said the woman had earlier stopped in a travel lane near the protest, a traffic violation. As the woman questioned why she was being detained, the deputy reached into her window, then smashed it.