![]() It’s been that way in Florida for decades. And unless the sheriff’s office successfully appeals, which seems unlikely, they will face no accountability. “The union,” Bell said, “always gets blamed for bringing back these so-called bad people that the agency has employed, but the problem is that it is the agency that does things wrong and we point out their errors and that’s what leads these people to come back.”Ĭonsider that Miller, Stambaugh and Eason didn’t face the possibility of criminal charges - just the loss of their job. Last September, Bell tried to duck his organization’s role in creating this biased system. The same technicality almost certainly will keep him on the job. The case of Edward Eason, whom Tony also fired for his inaction at Stoneman Douglas, is before an arbitrator. In subsequent arbitration, this becomes a critical tactical advantage.”Īfter the union seized on the technicality in the cases of Miller and Stambaugh, arbitrators ruled in their favor. “This enables the officer to cast his actions in the best possible light - even to lie about what happened, once he knows the evidence will not disprove the lie. In Florida, “State law guarantees him, and his lawyer, an opportunity to review every bit of evidence - every witness statement, any video, all the physical evidence - before he talks to internal affairs. Writing last year in the Washington Post, Oates explained how the process favors officers at risk of getting fired.Īn officer, Oates noted, is interviewed only at the end of an investigation. The “Police Bill of Rights,” which the Legislature approved after lobbying by the union, makes it hard for even the most reform-minded sheriff or police chief to maintain high standards.ĭaniel Oates was police chief in Miami Beach from 2013 to 2019 after holding the same job in two cities outside of Florida. In Florida and most states, however, it’s very hard to fire law enforcement officers.
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