Miami’s civilian police oversight agency refuses to go down without a fight and is set to wage a legal battle with the city to continue existing, a new court filing indicates. The city of Miami moved to shutter the agency, which has existed for decades, to comply with its interpretation of one of Florida’s newest laws.
On Friday, Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel petitioned a Miami-Dade County Circuit Court judge for an injunction on the agency’s termination. If an injunction were granted, the oversight panel would continue to function in its normal capacity until the judge declares a ruling on whether Florida law requires it to be shut down.
READ MORE: Review board dedicated to holding Miami cops accountable will be disbanded. How come?
This dispute stems from a bill turned law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that went into effect on July 1. The bill, in short, states that no city can fund or adopt a civilian oversight board. But a police chief can create a civilian oversight board and select between three to seven members.
The City of Miami announced Tuesday that it would no longer fund the Civilian Investigative Panel because, according to its interpretation of the new state law, the panel can no longer exist.
At the time, Rodney Jacobs, head of the CIP, told the Miami Herald the city had it all wrong and his agency would be seeking legal action.
“I don’t believe in the city’s articulation of the law,” he said. “I think [the law] still gives a pathway for it to still exist.”
The oversight panel’s petition to the court hinges on how the agency was created.
The CIP was created by a voter referendum in 2001 and then added to the City Charter, which set its authority and mandated that it be provided with a budget.
The current panel functions, in nature, as an investigative unit — combining a staff of former officers and attorneys with a panel voted on by the Miami Commission.
The agency combs through body camera footage, witness testimony, and sometimes statements from police and internal affairs reports to investigate complaints filed against cops. Jacobs said it handled about 300 cases last year. The panel’s oversight power is limited to making recommendations to the city’s police chief.
In the legal filing, the CIP said the new law states that no city can adopt an ordinance that creates a civilian oversight board that investigates complaints of police misconduct.
When the law went into effect, the oversight agency proposed to the city that it stop its investigative work but continue its other duties, including reviewing closed internal investigation files and department orders. The filing read that because the agency was created by a voter referendum and not an ordinance, there would be no reason to shut down.
The city refused the proposal and went ahead with shutting down the CIP.
Apart from the injunction, the CIP is requesting the court to declare the new law does not require it to shut down, and it will continue to exist with narrow limitations.
The City of Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a city spokesperson told WLRN they would provide a “complete response” on Tuesday.
“I think it’s important for the people to have a voice,” Jacobs told the Herald earlier this week. “This is an organization that is in the city’s charter voted by the people.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0