DISTURBING FACTS RELATED TO THE LAW IN FLORIDA
Like most parents we always assumed that the law was there to protect us and our children, that if some terrible crime was committed against one of our family, we had the right to see justice served. That is not the case. The law in Florida provides you with no rights to justice, nor does it provide you with any rights to protection from criminal acts.
The following are the true facts regarding your rights under Florida Law. The police, the politicians and the judicial system do not want you to be aware of these fact, but if you doubt them, contact your local newspaper, t/v station or poitical representative and ask them to verify them, you will find they are the truth.
If your child is murdered, raped or the victim of any other crime, you have no legal right to a police investigation into that crime. The police are under no legal obligation whatsoever to investigate any crime. If they choose not to do so you have no recourse under the law.
If a police officer is implicated in a crime against your family, or covers-up a crime against your family in order to protect someone, you have no legal rights to an investigation into that officers criminal misconduct. No matter how compelling the evidence, the police can refuse to investigate the criminal actions of their fellow officers and you have no recourse under the law.
If a member of your family is being attacked, if their life is in danger and you call 911, you have no legal rights to have the police respond to your call. If you are in need of emergency medical treatment and you call 911, you have no legal rights to have a response to your call. The police and emergancy services are under no legal obligation to come to your assistance, and if they choose not to, you have no recourse under the law. The police failed to respond to the initial 911 calls reporting Kevin being attacked in the highway. They did not despatch a police car until eight minutes after the first of those 911 calls was made. They then took nine minutes to get to a location in the center of Tampa, a mere stones throw from the Tampa Police HQ. They arrived less than a minute after Kevin was killed, had they responded to the initial calls, which stated " please, somebody is going to get hurt", Kevin would still be alive. They have never offered an explanation why they failed to respond, and their attitude is that they have no obligation to respond.
If your child is murdered, even if there is overwhelming evidence to prove who the murderer is, you have no legal right to have the police arrest that person, you have no legal right to have that person questioned and you have no legal right to have that person charged. If the State Attorney decides, for whatever reason, not to prosecute a person who has committed a crime against you, regardless of the evidence against them, you have no recourse under the law. If the State Attorney decides not to prosecute a police officer for obstruction of justice, withholding evidence, falsifying the scene of a crime or any other criminal action against you, regardless of the evidence, you have no recourse under the law. FACT During Harry Lee Coe's two terms as Hillsborough State Attorney, he never once brought a prosecution against a law enforcement officer. In a recent case of police brutality captured by t/v cameras, he over-ruled the recommendations of all his attorneys and refused to charge the officers concerned.
Not only are you deprived of all of these rights under Florida's criminal justice system, you are also deprived of your rights to address many of these issues through the civil courts. Florida Law protects all law enforcement and state agencies from being held responsible for their actions in a civil court. They are shielded by a Florida statute granting them Sovereign Immunity. This statute effectively makes them not liable for any failure to discharge their duties to the citizens of Florida. They can fail to protect you, refuse to investigate crimes, refuse to apprehend criminals, be guilty of extreme negligence or gross incompetence and they are protected from law suits by the State of Florida. Even when they break the law of the land and commit criminal offences, they can hide behind this statute. They can claim that they did not intend to break the law, that they were just guilty of gross incompetence and negligence. Unless you can prove deliberate and wilful intent to act outside of the law, an extremely high burden of proof to establish beyond doubt, then the State absolves them of all liability.
In short, the ctizens of Florida are paying millions of dollars in taxes for the State to provide them with a law enforcement system, which has absolutely no resposibility to protect them, serve them, provide justice or respond to their needs in any way, shape or form.
It has to be said that in the majority of cases the police fulfill their obligations in spite of having no legal requirement to do so. The majority of police officers act in a competent and diligent fashion to protect the citizens of this state. In all walks of life, however, there are those that will abuse the trust that is placed in them. To quote a passage from a letter by Theodore B. Olson, a former top official in the U.S. Department of Justice: "Misconduct by Police Officers causes irreparable injury, not just to the individuals damaged by their misconduct, but to the rule of law on which a civilized, orderly and successful society depends. Corruption in law enforcement corrodes the heart and soul of a community". There can be no justification for protecting law enforcement officers or agencies from the consequences of their misconduct, this can only lead to further abuse of the trust that is placed in them. Law enforcement officers must be governed by the same laws that apply to the citizens of this State, both criminal and civil.
It is clearly intolerable that a law enforcement agency can refuse to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct by police officers. It is inexcusable for the state government to consider this an acceptable course of action for an agency that is sworn to uphold the law. There is no provision in state laws that holds these agencies accountable for their actions, in fact the laws of Florida appear to condone such misconduct by protecting these agencies from the legal responsibilities of their actions. Furthermore, the Federal Government is prohibited from intervening in cases of criminal wrongdoing by law enforcement officers, unless such criminal acts relate to racial or religeous issues or were committed with intent to deprive someone of their liberty. Apparently it is a Federal crime to falsify evidence in order to gain a conviction, however, if you are murdered, it is not a Federal crime to falsify evidence in order to protect your killers and leave them free to commit further violent crimes.
There is no place in society for laws that protect law enforcement officers from the consequences of committing criminal acts, gross misconduct or gross negligence. Those laws serve only to encourage such actions and jeopardize the safety and rights of law abiding citizens. They are an invitation to all rogue law enforcement officers to continue their abuse of the trust placed in them, and are an affront to all decent conscientious officers whose efforts are tainted by the misconduct of others.
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