CLEARWATER, Fla. — Several local agencies say they are now clarifying the language in their agency policies to require law enforcement officers to intervene with other officers should they be seen not working appropriately in the community.
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told 10 Tampa Bay his agency already required deputies to report other agency employees who were breaking the rules or using excessive force, but he was looking into have the rules even further clarified.
“I don’t think there’s anyone here that would mistake what that obligation is and what that duty is, but we can say it even more clearly,” Gualtieri said.
The conversations about law enforcement policies follow more than a week of nationwide protests and unrest after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody.
Tampa Police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said they already have “duty to intervene” policies spelled out clearly, but St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway agreed his agency's wording could be tweaked to underscore the urgency.
“We’re going to make sure they know that positively that this is in the policy now and you will intervene,” Holloway said. “You also have to show if they do violate the policy, that something is going to happen to them.”
The department announced the policy change in a news release: "Officers have a duty to intervene to prevent or stop wrongdoing by another officer when it is safe and reasonable to do so."
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