Desantis Receives Bill That Addresses Excessive Use Of Force

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has received HB7051, legislation that received a unanimous vote in the Florida House. The bipartisan legislation is the result of negotiations between members of the legislative Black Caucus, House leadership, law enforcement groups, and others to address excessive use of force by police officers. Governor DeSantis has until Wednesday to sign the legislation into law.

State Senator Rep. Randolph Bracy (D), currently running for Congress, presented the legislation to the Florida Senate earlier this year, noting that “I just believe that we could continue to build upon this work here.”

The legislation calls for basic training regarding proportional use of force, which includes de-escalation techniques and intervening in another officer’s excessive use of force and chokeholds.

In early April, Wilton Simpson (R), President of the Florida Senate, thanked Bracy for his “diligent work”, calling it a “strong, bipartisan package that reflects our commitment to improving and in many cases codifying existing policies that guide the actions of Florida’s brave law enforcement and correctional officers.” “We stand by the dedicated members of law enforcement who put their lives on the line each and every day to protect our communities,” Simpson added, noting that “there is nothing to lose and everything to gain from a good faith review of our policing policies because we want to make sure every law enforcement officer has the resources and training to keep our communities safe.”

In response, Bracy thanked Simpson for the bill being fast-tracked, adding that “it means a lot to our community.”

With Governor DeSantis receiving the bill, he has until Wednesday to sign it into law.

The legislation also establishes the “Kaia Rolle Act,” which is a multi-year project of Bracy’s that would prevent children that are younger than 7 years old from being charged or arrested with crimes that aren’t forcible felonies.