Legislative Matter

Miami-Dade Legislative Item
File Number: 202179

File Number: 202179

File Type: Resolution

Status: Adopted as amended

Version: 0

Reference: R-667-20

Control: Board of County Commissioners

File Name: PROHIBIT POLICE HIRINING OFFICERS FOUND GUILTY OF BRUTALITY

Introduced: 10/21/2020

Requester: NONE

Cost:

Final Action:

Agenda Date: 7/8/2020

Agenda Item Number: 11A2SUBSTITUTE

Notes:

THIS IS FINAL VERSION AS ADOPED. ALSO SEE 201289

Title:

RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING COUNTY POLICY PROHIBITING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR’S DESIGNEE FROM HIRING ANY SWORN OFFICER WHO HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF A SUSTAINED FINDING OR ADJUDICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED OR IMPROPER FORCE, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, OR THEFT AS A RESULT OF ACTION TAKEN WHILE SERVING AS A SWORN OFFICER; AND URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL DATABASE OF CURRENT AND FORMER SWORN OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF A SUSTAINED FINDING OR ADJUDICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED OR IMPROPER FORCE

Indexes:

POLICE

Sponsors:	Esteban L. Bovo, Jr., Prime Sponsor
	Audrey M. Edmonson, Co-Sponsor
	Sally A. Heyman, Co-Sponsor
	Eileen Higgins, Co-Sponsor
	Barbara J. Jordan, Co-Sponsor
	Jean Monestime, Co-Sponsor
	Dennis C. Moss, Co-Sponsor
	Rebeca Sosa, Co-Sponsor
	Sen. Javier D. Souto, Co-Sponsor

Sunset Provision: No

Effective Date:

Expiration Date:

Registered Lobbyist:

None Listed

Legislative History
Acting Body	Date	Agenda Item	Action	Sent To	Due Date	Returned	Pass/Fail

County Attorney	10/21/2020		Assigned	Anita Viciana Zapata

Board of County Commissioners	7/8/2020	11A2 SUB AMENDED	Adopted as amended				P
REPORT:	The foregoing proposed resolution was moved by Commissioner Bovo and seconded by Commissioner Heyman. Commissioner Jordan offered a friendly amendment to provide that the proposed resolution would relate to any officer that has been terminated for any other crime, such as, but not limited to theft. She voiced concern regarding officers who were terminated from the County and from the City of Miami Gardens and were hired somewhere else. Commissioner Bovo clarified the proposed resolution only applied to Miami-Dade Police Department; not municipalities police departments. Assistant County Attorney Anita Viciana advised the proposed resolution pertained to the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) and the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCRD). She further advised the proposed legislation restricted the MDPD and the MDCRD’s ability to hire sworn officers who had the sustained findings or the adjudications of guilt regarding force or violence. Commissioner Bovo accepted Commissioner Jordan’s proposed friendly amendment. Assistant County Attorney Viciana asked whether Commissioner Jordan’s amendment would involve any officer convicted of any crime in Section 2A of the proposed resolution, and Commissioner Jordan replied she was concerned there may not have been a conviction. Chief Ariel Artime, MDPD, stated he had no problem with codifying Commissioner Jordan’s proposed language as it was part of their existing protocols. He noted MDPD currently disqualified applicants for sustained violations related to sexual misconduct or force violations. In response to Commissioner Bovo’s concern that officer(s) may be dismissed immediately based on an unfounded accusation, Chief Artime stated officers with an open internal affairs allegation with another agency would be disqualified from being hired. Discussion ensued among the Board members on the foregoing proposed resolution. In response to Commissioner Sosa’s inquiry whether similar screening was conducted for all Miami-Dade County departments, Ms. Arleene Cuellar, Human Services Director, stated the County conducted background screenings on all employees; however, background information could not be used to prevent an employee from obtaining employment unless there was a conviction. Commissioner Sosa asked to be further educated on this issue. Ms. Cuellar opined the Parks and Recreation Department conducted renewed screenings every two years. Commissioner Bovo stated different rules existed for general employees that did not apply to the police department, and he reminded the Board of an ordinance which was adopted in 2015 eliminating questions regarding criminal history on County employment applications. Commissioner Levine Cava stated civilian panels in Washington, D.C., Detroit and New York had the power to serve as the final appellate authority for officer misconduct and discipline. She noted while she commended and recognized Commissioner Bovo’s proposal as a first step, it was inconsistent with the legislation related to the Independent Review Panel and was in contradiction with the potential Charter Reform item. Commissioner Levine Cava indicated she would vote in support of the proposed resolution but withdrew her co-sponsorship. She expressed her hope that in the future this could be expanded to provide proper consideration to citizen-driven efforts. The foregoing proposed resolution was adopted, as amended, to expand Section 2 to include that it would be adjudications of guilt or a factual finding or disposition regarding sustaining a complaint or allegation regarding what was currently in the item, as well as any sexual harassment, sexual misconduct or theft. There being no further discussion, the Board proceeded to vote on the foregoing proposed resolution, as amended. SPECIAL NOTE: The foregoing proposed resolution was adopted on Thursday, July 9, 2020.

Legislative Text

TITLE
RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING COUNTY POLICY PROHIBITING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE FROM HIRING ANY SWORN OFFICER WHO HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF A SUSTAINED FINDING OR ADJUDICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED OR IMPROPER FORCE, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, OR THEFT AS A RESULT OF ACTION TAKEN WHILE SERVING AS A SWORN OFFICER; AND URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL DATABASE OF CURRENT AND FORMER SWORN OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF A SUSTAINED FINDING OR ADJUDICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED OR IMPROPER FORCE

BODY
WHEREAS, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer during an arrest; and
WHEREAS, video taken at the scene of Mr. Floyd�s arrest shows the arresting officer, Derek Chauvin, keeping his knee pressed against the back of Mr. Floyd�s head for about eight minutes, by which time Mr. Floyd had stopped speaking or moving and died; and
WHEREAS, Derek Chauvin and three other officers present at the scene were fired from their jobs at the Minneapolis Police Department the next day; and
WHEREAS, the actions of Derek Chauvin and the other former officers at the scene were swiftly and universally condemned across the country, including by law enforcement agencies; and
WHEREAS, Derek Chauvin has since been criminally charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter for the death of George Floyd; and
WHEREAS, the death of George Floyd has left communities across the United States heartbroken and angry; and
WHEREAS, the death of George Floyd has reignited a national conversation about policing, community relationships, and the necessity and propriety of use of force in the context of police action; and
WHEREAS, sworn police and corrections officers are given a significant amount of authority and responsibility, and the potential for abuse of that authority should not be ignored; and
WHEREAS, this Board wishes to ensure that the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department are not hiring new officers who have been the subject of a sustained finding or an adjudication of unauthorized or improper force, or of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, or theft, as a result of action taken while serving as a sworn police officer or correctional officer,; and
WHEREAS, this Board further wishes to urge the United States Congress and the federal government to establish a national database of individuals who, while serving as law enforcement officers or correctional officers, were the subject of a sustained finding or adjudication of unauthorized or improper force,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Approves and incorporates the foregoing recitals as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2. Establishes County policy prohibiting the hiring of any new sworn officer of the Miami-Dade Police Department or the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department who has been the subject of a sustained finding or an adjudication of unauthorized or improper force, or of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, or theft, as a result of action taken while serving as a sworn police officer or correctional officer. For the purposes of this policy, a sustained finding or an adjudication of unauthorized or improper force may include, but is not limited to, the following:
a. An adjudication of guilt in a court of law, including a conviction or a guilty plea, of a criminal act involving force, including but not limited to murder, manslaughter, assault, battery, or any other crime which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual; or

b. A factual finding or disposition by an internal investigation that a complaint or allegation regarding unauthorized or improper force is sustained. Such unauthorized or improper force may include, but is not limited to, the commission of a crime, a criminal assault, the unauthorized use of physical force, or unnecessary or unlawful injury to a prisoner or detainee.

Section 3. Urges the United States Congress and the federal government to establish a national database of current and former sworn officers, including correctional officers, who have been the subject of a sustained finding or an adjudication of unauthorized or improper force as a result of action taken while serving as a sworn police officer or correctional officer as described in section 2 above.
Section 4. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the President of the United States and Members of the Miami-Dade County Congressional Delegation.
Section 5. Directs the County�s federal lobbyists to advocate for the action set forth in section 3 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2020 federal legislative package to include this item and to include this item in the 2021 federal legislative package when it is presented to the Board.