Bracy urges Legislature to address police reform
TALLAHASSEE —Black lawmakers are again calling for a special session of Florida’s Legislature, this time to address the issues of police brutality and implicit bias against African-Americans in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
Sen. Randolph Bracy, an Orlando Democrat, wrote to Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Speaker Jose Oliva and Senate President Bill Galvano – all Republicans – on Friday asking for the special session.
He knows his plea will likely go unheeded, but he thinks the latest round of protests is different from the previous protests, marches and demands for action over police bias.
“I don’t think we’ve seen protests like this on this scale maybe ever,” said Bracy. “Trayvon Martin definitely elicited a groundswell of support for these reforms but it seems bigger and more immediate. I wouldn’t ignore this if I were the leadership in Tallahassee because this isn’t going away.”
In response, Galvano, RBradenton, said the killing of Floyd by Minneapolis police was criminal and “peaceful protesters are making a difference.” But while he wants the Senate to work to improve the relationship between African-American communities and the police, he doesn’t think a special session is appropriate.
“There is definitely a role for the Senate in helping to craft a comprehensive solution, but not a solution that can be achieved in a time-limited special session without more consideration and understanding of what will work to solve the problem,” Galvano wrote in a letter to Bracy.
Spokespersons for DeSantis and Oliva did not return requests for comment.
Black lawmakers in Florida have pushed for changes to the criminal justice system and laws governing police behavior and accountability in recent years, mostly in response to incidents that grabbed national headlines – and most of the time, the Legislature hasn’t acted or made only cosmetic changes.
In 2013, protesters held a month-long sit-in at the Capitol to push for the repeal or significant changes to the Stand Your Ground law, sparked by the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin the previous year.
Bracy, a House member at the time, and other black lawmakers contended stand your ground was applied unevenly by police, often giving protection to white assailants that wasn’t there for African-American suspects, citing the Sanford police’s initial decision not to arrest Zimmerman. Instead of repealing or restricting the law, Republicans expanded it and put the burden of proof on prosecutors during stand your ground hearings.
Rep. Bruce Antone, chairman of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, has called for bills to compile a database of police brutality complaints, have an independent agency investigate excessive force incidents and give civilian review boards the power to subpoena police agencies.
“It has not been addressed in a substantive way,” Antone said. “With the latest rounds of police brutality and the protests – I mean this is possibly the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the police reform changes that need to be made.”
A bill filed earlier this year by Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, would have required law enforcement and student resource officers to get training in implicit bias, but the bill was never heard.
One of the main stumbling blocks to reform, Bracy and Antone said, is the opposition from law enforcement groups, such as the Florida Police Chiefs Association, and from police unions.
The FPCA has opposed mandatory body cameras, requirements to record custodial interrogations and statewide civil citation programs for juveniles. Often, the objections are rooted in opposing statewide mandates, with the FPCA arguing individual police chiefs should be able to craft their own policies to suit their communities.
But there are signs the recent protests are having an impact.
On Friday, FPCA president Kenneth Albano, who is also chief of the Temple Terrace Police Department, said he would set up a panel to work with “community leaders” to develop recommendations to lawmakers “to address some of the most deep-seated societal issues that plague our communities and contribute to many of the negative encounters with law enforcement in the first place.”
There’s no set timeline for those recommendations to come out, but it will likely be before the next regular legislative session, set for March 2021, an FPCA spokesman said.
It will ultimately be up to Republican lawmakers in control of the Legislature to decide what reforms, if any, get passed.
Rep. James Grant, RTampa, chairman of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, said he’s open to increasing accountability for officers who engage in excessive use of force or biased actions, but wants to guard against sweeping restrictions that bind police officers with clean records.
“Conversations need to be had,” Grant said. “I also think they need to be measured and they need to be driven by data and truth and facts first.”
Bracy is prepared to wait, but he senses the moment is ripe this time for concrete reforms. “I can’t control whether it’s taken up or not,” said Bracy. “I know the issue won’t die. I know that the people are activated, they’re motivated. I think they’re watching to see which lawmakers will take action and I think there’ll be (electoral) consequences if they’re ignored.”