Tallahassee is the poster child for a bill limiting the ability of civilians to oversee police misconduct cases locally. The measure is on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis, and opinion in Tallahassee is split on it.
Smart Justice Alliance CEO and Tallahassee resident Barney Bishop supports the effort to limit civilian oversight of law enforcement. He says there are plenty of other safeguards in place should misconduct occur.
"So, first you have internal affairs, second you have the state attorney, third you have a grand jury, potentially, and fourth, you’ve got the ever-vigilant mainstream media that’s always going to report on these instances, always going to get everybody’s opinion," said Bishop. "And public pressure can do a lot of things. So, you don’t really need the citizens advisory board.”
Tallahassee’s police review board played a major role in the bill’s passage. Lawmakers repeatedly heard that a former member brought a mug to meetings that said, “Abolish the police.” City commissioners removed her from the board and have since overhauled it.
Earlier this month, the city commission unanimously passed a resolution asking the Legislature to defeat the measure. Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox, who often criticized the board during the clash over the mug, also voiced her support for it.
“I want our citizen review board to stay in place," said Williams-Cox. "But understand, there is a misunderstanding by some as to what this board was supposed to do. Review and make policy…review closed cases for suggested policy changes and training…only. That was it.”
The city has noted that if the measure becomes law, it will lead to the Tallahassee police review board being disbanded.
