Florida lawmakers, you cracked down on violent protests. Now crack down on violent police | Editorial
The police reform bill the Florida Legislature seems poised to pass is like the dessert liqueur after a four-course meal. It was not the main entree. It was put off until the 11th hour of the session ending Friday, then rushed to pass without much room for change or debate. Almost an afterthought.
But after Republican leaders spent most of the 60-day session pushing a new law to crack down on Black Lives Matter protests, police reform might be a late-session surprise that shows their willingness to address the aftermath of George Floyd’s death from a different angle.
Republicans’ main course was House Bill 1, the so-called “anti-riot” law, intended to appease Donald Trump’s base and show Florida gets tough on Black Lives Matter. The law increases penalties for crimes committed during what law enforcement considers a riot — a subjective call — and for damaging monuments (by that, we know lawmakers had Confederate ones in mind). Opponents point out that the definition of what a “riot” is and who’s involved in it is loose and raises fears that even peaceful protesters could end up in jail for other people’s conduct.
DeSantis mum
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1 this month with great fanfare and bravado in front of a group of sheriffs and law enforcement officers. With their No. 1 priority now secured, Republicans are finally advancing a package to set standards for law enforcement’s use of force. HB 7051 includes training on “de-escalation” techniques, requires on-duty officers to intervene if another officer is using excessive force when “reasonable” and would limit the use of choke holds.
DeSantis, who has been vocal about his plan to crack down on protesters since last year, has remained silent on whether he supports police reform, the Miami Herald has reported. That’s telling, but not surprising.
But we care less about hype and self-congratulatory bill-signing ceremonies and more about getting reform through the Legislature and signed into law. The House passed HB 7051 unanimously, and the Senate is scheduled to consider it Thursday.
A stronger bill that Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle helped craft was put aside to give way to this compromise between House Republicans, the Florida Black Legislative Caucus and law enforcement. Although some elements of that stronger bill ended up in the final product, left out were a requirement that law enforcement take implicit-bias training and stronger limits on choke holds.
Better than nothing
Still, Fernandez Rundle told the Editorial Board she’s happy with the final product and has been advocating for HB 7051, adding that “it’s a great start” for future reforms. Going forward, she would like to see a reporting requirement for the use of all choke holds in the state and more training in use-of-force alternatives.
There were also other Democratic bills introduced this year, but they didn’t see the light of day. They would have required law-enforcement agencies adopt the use of body cameras (any requirements should also come with funding to help agencies purchase that equipment) and banned no-knock search warrants for misdemeanors.
These proposals deserved more discussion, but in a Legislature that the Herald’s Editorial Board has said is pushing an anti-people agenda, we’ll take what we can get.
The alternative would be that Florida, when faced with a national reckoning on policing of communities of color, chose instead to get tough on those who are asking for change. Violent protests are not justified, but HB 1 was an unnecessary overreach given we already had laws to punish violent demonstrators.
If HB 1 is the best we can do, then we’re in trouble.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 6:00 AM.