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Orange County Sheriff's Office CITIZENS REVIEW PANEL (CRP) |
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Tuesday, 22 June 2010 |
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Former Sheriff Beary, current Sheriff Demings and the PBA recently won a legal battle thereby disbanding the prior Orange County Citizen’s Review Board (CRB). Therefore, I was very surprised and disappointed yesterday when Sheriff Demings announced his establishment of an “internal” Orange County Sheriff's Office Citizens Review Panel (CRP).
During my discussions with Sheriff Demings yesterday, he did not relieve my concerns about mandatory employee appearance and PBA employee representation at the CRP. Sheriff Demings did offer PBA involvement in the CRP development process and a PBA position on the CRP. Fortunately, sheriff Demings also stated that the CRP would be “non-punitive” and only review and make recommendations.
Please be assured that the PBA will have representatives and/or attorneys present to monitor the Sheriff’s CRP and its actions … as we did with the County’s CRB. Hopefully, the CRP stays on task and legitimately reviews and makes useful recommendations. If the CRP does not stay on task and develops into a board of inquiry for disciplinary purposes, becomes a process for discovery in civil litigation against the deputies, or simply a forum for leveling accusations against the deputies, then the PBA will resolve that problem by going back to court!
For now, the PBA will, watchfully, take Sheriff Demings at his word. Only time will tell.
John Park
President
Central Florida PBA |
