Florida Bans Police Misconduct Oversight Boards

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill Friday stripping citizen oversight boards of their power to investigate police misconduct.

The bill, HB 601, instead allows local chiefs of police agencies to create their own “civilian oversight” boards composed of three to seven members, all appointed by the chief or sheriff. But these boards can only review policies and procedures, not oversee use-of-force complaints or internal affairs investigations.

The new legislation “puts the kibosh on these extrajudicial investigations against law enforcement,” DeSantis said at a news conference at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, describing the boards as “stacked with activists.” The law does not allow members of the boards to be appointed by local governments.

Read the full article.

DeSantis signs controversial bill banning civilian boards from investigating police misconduct https://t.co/RbqZCQKin2

— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) April 12, 2024

So much for rooting out police corruption: #Florida @GovRonDeSantis signs bill that bars citizen review boards from investigating allegations of officer misconduct. https://t.co/aD5vVvhFcW via @SkylerSwisher

— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) April 12, 2024