Police to City Manager: Take Action or Resign
Hallandale Beach Police Officers and their supporters will hold a protest rally on
Tuesday, June 16th at 10:00 a.m. in front of the Hallandale Beach City Hall to
demand action by the City Manager on their concerns or his resignation for failing
to support law enforcement in the city.
“The police are undermanned and under siege in Hallandale Beach,” said Broward
County PBA President Patrick Hanrahan. “We hold the City Manager failing to
hire enough officers and for neglecting the ones we have.”
The PBA will unveil a public information campaign reaching out to Hallandale
City residents to contact their elected officials on behalf of the police.
Representatives of the Florida and Broward County Police Benevolent
Associations will be in attendance.
Click here to read the press release
PBA Brings Stop to CRB Investigations
On May 29, 2009 the Fifth District Court of Appeal brought an end to investigations of alleged police misconduct by the Orange County Citizens Review Board finding that such investigations were unconstitutional and in direct conflict with the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. The decision, Demings v. Orange County Citizens Review Board, was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Florida PBA on behalf of an Orange County deputy sheriff who was subpoenaed to testify before the review board which was investigating him, even though he had been already been cleared of any misconduct charges by the Sheriff’s Office.
As many of you know, the creation of local citizen review boards is an increasingly popular “political” solution to allegations of police misconduct. More and more local governments (and local politicians) view these boards as a way to avoid criticism of the manner in a local law enforcement agency handles its internal affairs investigations, specifically allegations of excessive force or misuse of police authority. Obviously, the benefit to the politicians is the avoidance of the wrath of voters and other special interest groups by establishing the boards to do a “fair and objective” investigation.
This was just the situation in the Demings case in which the review board subpoenaed an Orange County deputy sheriff to testify before it. When the deputy refused to honor the subpoena based upon the advice of the PBA, a lawsuit was filed to enforce the subpoena. The deputy, through the PBA, responded claiming the investigative powers of the board were unconstitutional because they were in conflict with the LEO Bill of Rights. The Sheriff’s Office, to its credit, supported the deputy, joining in the lawsuit and claiming that, in addition to the conflict with the bill of rights, the board’s powers were in conflict with the Sheriff’s authority as a constitutional officer.
The PBA and the sheriff lost the first legal battle before the circuit court, but the result from the district court was far better. The district court found that language of the LEO Bill of Rights made it clear that, except for limited circumstances, the investigative procedures outlined in the statute were the exclusive procedure for investigating officer misconduct. The court held that the citizens review board’s investigative authority conflicted not only with the LEO Bill of Rights, but also with the independence of the Sheriff. It concluded the investigative authority granted to the board is unconstitutional and void.
While the Florida PBA is hopeful that the litigation on this issue will end, in all likelihood this is just the second stage of the litigation with the next stop being the Florida Supreme Court. In the meantime, the decision will provide valuable ammunition for opponents of the citizen review board process. As explained by Florida PBA President John Rivera: “Our members have always been opposed to the concept of these boards manned by civilians who know little, if anything, about police work. The PBA felt action was necessary to stop them, so we took that action. That is why we are the PBA.”
A special thanks goes out to Stewart Cohen, counsel for the Central Florida PBA, and Hal Johnson, General Counsel for the Florida PBA, for their hard work on this case. Also, another thank you goes out to Sheriff Demings and his attorney, Eric Dunlap, for continuing the fight alongside the PBA in this legal battle.
Democratic commissioners to battle with Republican sheriff today
Here's a twist on political stereotypes: Broward's Democratic county commission is calling for major budget cuts at the Broward Sheriff's Office. Republican Sheriff Al Lamberti has proposed a budget that is more than $50 million above what the Democrats want to give him. The more Lamberti cuts, the less commissioners have to cut from their own budget.
The first public showdown between Lamberti and commissioners is set for today at 1 p.m. at County Hall. Much is at stake: Lamberti has already sent layoff notices to 177 workers and told judges that he is getting rid of drug treatment and other programs in the jail as of Aug. 1.
This year's budget battle could be the first of many: County Auditor Evan Lukic recently released a report that says BSO is undercharging cities by $14.4 million for next year. And labor agreements show that contract costs will continue to escalate faster than revenues, he wrote.
Ultimately, Lamberti could become the first constitutional officer in Florida to appeal his budget to the Cabinet. Though Lamberti insists he isn't a politician and that his Republican affiliation is irrelevant, it could help: three of the four Cabinet members are Republican and one is Gov. Charlie Crist who appointed Lamberti as sheriff in 2007.
Posted by Amy Sherman on May 19, 2009
Matt Puckett
Deputy Executive Director
Florida Police Benevolent Association
Parents Concerned Over BSO Budget Cuts Sheriff Expected To Ask For $6 Million Budget Raise
POSTED: Monday, May 18, 2009
UPDATED: 7:53 am EDT May 19, 2009
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Joan Martin and Sondie Snelson own homes in Broward. Their children attend public school there. And they said they have a lot to lose if the sheriff's office takes a financial beating.
"Of course I'm worried. It's bad out there," Martin told Local 10's Sasha Andrade.
 Video
"I think it's ridiculous. I don't know what we're supposed to do," Snelson said.
The county asked Sheriff Al Lamberti to cut about 12 percent of his $700 million budget. On Tuesday, Lamberti is expected to make a proposal that doesn't even come close to that amount. In fact, he's asking for a $6 million raise in the budget.
"He cut a lot out last year and I know he's trying to do what he can," said Police Benevolent Association President Pat Hanrahan.
With the extra money, the sheriff would still have to eliminate about 260 positions, including dozens of school resource deputies.
"These are our kids. This is our school. We need every little bit of everything we can get," Snelson said.
"The crime gets worse every year, not better," Martin said.
The PBA agrees with parents.
"If you start cutting deputies off the street, you're going to see crime increase like it already has," Hanrahan said.
Most of the cuts in the proposal come from one of BSO's medium security jails and from some of the mental health facilities. The sheriff is also proposing 5-day furloughs for certain departments.
Supporters said it's all Lamberti can do to keep the budget lean and the county safe. But county commissioners said it's not enough. They are beiong asked to cut $160 million from their $3.7 billion budget. They said they need the sheriff to do more during the economic crisis.
BSO is still hoping enough federal stimulus money will come in time to save the jobs. No one knows when, or if, that will happen.
Copyright 2009 by Post-Newsweek Stations. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
Matt Puckett
Deputy Executive Director
Florida Police Benevolent Association |
