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City of Key West

Learn the strict procedures and policies applicable to investigations of LEOs in Florida. Discover limitations, exceptions, confidentiality, and more outlined in these statutes.

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City of Key West

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  1. City of Key West Citizen Review Board Continuing Education City Charter Requirement 1.07(IV)(d)

  2. Officer’s Bill of Rights • Florida Statutes 112.532 & 112.533 • Unique to Florida • Applies to Law Enforcement & Correctional Officers (Hereinafter referred to as “LEOs”) • Comprised of multiple statutes-but these two are the main parts • Dictate strict procedures and policies applicable to investigations of LEOs • Uploaded to our CRB Website

  3. F.S. 112.532 (1)(d) • Inform the subject LEO of the charges and names of complainants and Subject LEOs can review all statements and evidence BEFORE giving a statement to IA. All witnesses should be interviewed PRIOR to interviewing subject LEO.

  4. F.S. 112.532(6) Limitations of Actions • “…No disciplinary action, demotion, or dismissal shall be undertaken by an agency against a law enforcement officer or correctional officer for any act, omission, or other allegation of misconduct if the investigation of such allegation is not completed within 180 days after the date the agency receives notice of the allegation.” • This applies to giving the notice to the officer of the recommended discipline (ie. this must be done within this 180 day period)

  5. F.S. 112.532 (6)(a) Exceptions to 180 day rule • Written Waiver by subject LEO; • Pending criminal investigation or prosecution in connection with the act, omission or other allegation of misconduct [subject of the current CRB advisory opinion request to AG]; • Subject LEO is incapacitated or unavailable; • Multijurisdictional investigation by multiple agencies; &/or • Emergencies or natural disasters;

  6. F.S. 112.532(6)(b) Reopening an Investigation • Notwithstanding the 180 day time limit, an investigation can be reopened under the following conditions: • Significant new evidence discovered likely to affect the outcome of original investigation & evidence could not have been reasonably discovered in the normal course of the original investigation or the evidence resulted from the pre-disciplinary response of the officer; • Any reopened investigation must be completed in 90 days.

  7. F.S. 112.533(1)(a)Mandates internal affairs departments be set up within the agency • Requires agency investigator to certify: • That the investigation is true and accurate & • Sign a statement as follows: “I, the undersigned, do hereby swear, under penalty of perjury, that , to the best of my personal knowledge, information and belief, I have not knowingly or willfully deprived, or allowed another to deprive, the subject of the investigation of any the rights contained in F.S. 112.532 & 112.533”

  8. F.S. 112.533(1)(b)Requires forwarding by all government departments complaints to agency for investigation • “Any political subdivision that initiates or receives a complaint against an law enforcement officer or correctional officer must within 5 business days forward the complaint to the employing agency of the officer who is the subject of the complaint for review or investigation”

  9. F.S. 112.533(2)(a) Provides for confidentiality of investigation • “A Complaint…and all information obtained pursuant to the investigation by the agency of such complaint shall be confidential and exempt [from public records] until the investigation ceases to be active” …. or until investigation is concluded with a finding issued.

  10. F.S. 112.532(b) Sets out the 45 day period • “…an investigation shall be considered active so long as it is continuing with a reasonable, good faith anticipation that an administrative finding will be made in the foreseeable future. An investigation shall be presumed to be inactive if no finding is made within 45 days after the complaint is filed”

  11. F.S. 112.532(4)Criminalizes knowingly releasing information about the investigation while it is pending. Participants in the investigation cannot reveal information or evidence until the investigation becomes public record. This DOES NOT preclude any agency head or his designee from acknowledging the existence of a complaint and the fact that an investigation is underway. {this section ruled Unconstitutional as applied to newspaper reporter in Cooper v. Dillon, CA 11th Cir. 403 F.3d. 1208 (11th Cir. 2005)}

  12. Recommendation: • CRB should timely forward all complaints to IA within 5 days of receipt; • CRB should wait 45 days and the investigation is presumed to be inactive; • CRB should consider commencing its own investigation, following these statutes as closely as possible as to notice, procedures etc… AFTER the 45 days are up (and IA cannot articulate a good faith estimate of completion within a reasonable foreseeable time frame) OR if the CRB is dissatisfied with IA’s findings and conclusions and the file is closed by IA.

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