JSO Shooting Investigations & Hearing Now Made Secret

[ChriswUfGator]

http://wokv.com/localnews/2010/11/who-polices-the-police.html

Local News  

Who Polices The Police?

By Adam Kirk - Morning News Producer @ November 18, 2010 7:50 AM Permalink | Comments (2)

A ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeals Wednesday means the Jacksonville board that reviews cases like police shootings will soon be closed to the public, and the media.
The JSO Response to Resistance board meets to determine what sort of punishment to recommend to Sheriff John Rutherford, if any, following cases of police-involved shootings among others.

Rutherford has long held that those open hearings create an atmosphere of trust in the community, despite some controversial outcomes in the past.  However, the Fraternal Order of Police maintained that police officers should have the same rights as citizens, when it comes to investigations being closed to the public.

"It's important the public be aware of the investigations and the overall conduct of police officers, without a doubt that's important," Paul Daragjati told our news partner Channel 4.  The attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police went on to say that "the investigations, the operational part the investigations -- the interviews, the deliberations -- there's no benefit to the public for them to to sit and view them as they are going on."

If the ruling stands, and does not make it to the Florida Supreme Court, it means families of police shooting victims and others will no longer be able to watch the deliberations of the board, but will still be able to see the outcome.

The recommendations made by the board do not include criminal charges.  Instead, officers involved in police shootings could be fired or face other serious discipline at the discretion of the Sheriff.

Nelson Cuba, the president of the Jacksonville chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the crux of the issue is whether police officers should have to endure a public trial in front of the court of public opinion.  "If you have never been involved in a shooting, the traumatic experience as a police officer that you go through, it's not understandable by anybody," said Cuba.

When officers relive the experience during the review process, it's hard enough, said Cuba. "We don't need to play that out in the court of public opinion, have the family members of these individuals whose lives were taken by these officers to protect themselves or the public, and have to relive that with these family members, attorneys and family members sitting behind us."

When asked whether this court ruling would help or hurt public perception of transparency within the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Cuba said "even with these open hearings, you still had those conspiracy folks out there, it's not going to stop, so, so what?"

Cuba argued that the hearings, no matter how transparent, don't stop the officers from coming under intense scrutiny for, what he argues, is their duty to protect the public.

Categories:Crime | Local News | News | Police

It would appear that, nothstanding being public servants, the officers and their union believe they should not publicly have to answer for their actions towards the public. Even the families of victims shot in excessive force situations will now be denied access to the hearings. The review board was already a completely stacked deck, now having the proceedings conducted in secret doesn't seem likely to aid the fairness of the process.

[sheclown]

Dear Heavens.  As if we don't have problems in this area as it is.

[Dog Walker]

Will the transcripts be released after the hearing is completed and the determination made?

I really didn't think our JSO officers were such delicate souls that they would be traumatized by having the public witness their testimony.

I'm really surprised at the Court of Appeals.