TALLAHASSEE, FL—A Republican-led bill would abolish civilian police review boards from the state. Mostly founded after the death of George Floyd, Democrats argue that these boards serve to build trust and understanding between the public and law enforcement, while Republicans believe they are unnecessary and "erode trust".
After George Floyd, a black man, was unnecessarily killed by a white officer in Minnesota, an explosion of both protests and civilian review boards appeared throughout the country, in hopes of bridging accountability and trust between citizens and officers. In Florida, more than half of these civilian boards were established after Floyd died in 2020.
"Many of these civilian review boards do not have members on them who understand policing, understand the law, or understand what police officers go through," SB 576's sponsor, Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, said in Wednesday's Rules Committee. "It makes little sense to me or to others to have people who do not understand law enforcement investigating and rendering on law enforcement,"
"These are just political bodies that—in my opinion—do no service but to second guess the issues of what law enforcement does on a daily basis," He added.
Ingoglia explained that officers charged with wrongdoing already face an Internal Affairs or State Attorney investigation, leading him to question why a civilian board would be a necessary extra step. "If the officer has already been adjudicated as having done something wrong and then been penalized for it...what does this body actually do?"
The Democrats claimed that these review boards serve the function of trust between communities and law enforcement, explaining that their presence creates a sense of understanding between all parties.
"I believe these review panels perform a critical function. For me and certain members of my community, they build trust," Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson said. "They allow a peek behind the curtain. I think that your legislation throws the baby out with the bathwater, and forgets the reason why these panels were created in the first place, and that was to build trust. That was to create more transparency and accountability,"
In his close on the bill, Sen Ingoglia argued that instead of building trust, these boards erode it. "These communities that have these police review boards are actually arresting less people because they're afraid of getting hauled before one of these review boards. I would ask you, how does that keep the community safe? How does it create any trust?"
In a party-line vote, SB 576 passed committee, and will head next to the Senate Floor.
