| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to assault or battery of a law enforcement |
| 3 | officer; creating s. 784.071, F.S.; requiring the |
| 4 | Department of Law Enforcement to issue a blue alert if a |
| 5 | law enforcement officer has been killed, suffered serious |
| 6 | bodily injury, or been assaulted and the suspect has fled |
| 7 | the scene, or if a law enforcement officer is missing |
| 8 | while in the line of duty; requiring that the blue alert |
| 9 | be disseminated on the emergency alert system through |
| 10 | television, radio, and highway signs; providing that |
| 11 | emergency traffic information may take precedence over |
| 12 | blue alert information; providing an effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Section 784.071, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 17 | to read: |
| 18 | 784.071 Assault or battery on a law enforcement officer; |
| 19 | missing while in line of duty; blue alert.- |
| 20 | (1) At the request of an authorized person employed at a |
| 21 | law enforcement agency, the Department of Law Enforcement, in |
| 22 | cooperation with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor |
| 23 | Vehicles and the Department of Transportation, shall activate |
| 24 | the emergency alert system and issue a blue alert if all of the |
| 25 | following conditions are met: |
| 26 | (a)1. A law enforcement officer has been killed, has |
| 27 | suffered serious bodily injury, or has been assaulted with a |
| 28 | deadly weapon; or |
| 29 | 2. A law enforcement officer is missing while in the line |
| 30 | of duty under circumstances evidencing concern for the law |
| 31 | enforcement officer's safety; |
| 32 | (b) The suspect has fled the scene of the offense; |
| 33 | (c) The law enforcement agency investigating the offense |
| 34 | determines that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the |
| 35 | public or to other law enforcement officers; |
| 36 | (d) A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle, or |
| 37 | other means of escape, or the license plate of the suspect's |
| 38 | vehicle is available for broadcasting; |
| 39 | (e) Dissemination of available information to the public |
| 40 | may help avert further harm or assist in the apprehension of the |
| 41 | suspect; and |
| 42 | (f) If the law enforcement officer is missing, there is |
| 43 | sufficient information available relating to the officer's last |
| 44 | known location and physical description, and the description of |
| 45 | any vehicle involved, including the license plate number or |
| 46 | other identifying information, to be broadcast to the public and |
| 47 | other law enforcement agencies, which could assist in locating |
| 48 | the missing law enforcement officer. |
| 49 | (2)(a) The blue alert shall be immediately disseminated to |
| 50 | the public through the emergency alert system by broadcasting |
| 51 | the alert on television, radio, and the dynamic message signs |
| 52 | that are located along the state's highways. |
| 53 | (b) If a traffic emergency arises requiring that |
| 54 | information pertaining to the traffic emergency be displayed on |
| 55 | a highway message sign in lieu of the blue alert information, |
| 56 | the agency responsible for displaying information on the highway |
| 57 | message sign is not in violation of this section. |
| 58 | Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011. |