Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1710
       
       
        
       By Senator Thurston
       
       
       
       
       
       33-01782A-21                                          20211710__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to standards for pursuit and arrest of
    3         suspects; amending s. 776.05, F.S.; providing
    4         additional criteria for use of force by law
    5         enforcement officers; creating s. 943.17185, F.S.;
    6         providing a definition; requiring law enforcement
    7         agencies to adopt standards for the pursuit of
    8         different types of fleeing suspects; providing
    9         requirements for such standards; providing an
   10         effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 776.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   15  read:
   16         776.05 Law enforcement officers; use of force in making an
   17  arrest.—A law enforcement officer, or any person whom the
   18  officer has summoned or directed to assist him or her, need not
   19  retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because
   20  of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest.
   21         (1) The officer is justified in the use of any necessary
   22  force:
   23         (a)(1) Which he or she reasonably believes to be reasonable
   24  and necessary to defend himself or herself or another from
   25  bodily harm while making the arrest;
   26         (b)(2) When necessarily committed in retaking felons who
   27  have escaped; or
   28         (c)(3) When necessarily committed in arresting felons
   29  fleeing from justice. However, this subsection shall not
   30  constitute a defense in any civil action for damages brought for
   31  the wrongful use of deadly force unless the use of deadly force
   32  was necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by such
   33  flight and, when feasible, some warning had been given, and:
   34         1.(a) The officer reasonably believes that the fleeing
   35  felon poses a threat of death or serious physical harm to the
   36  officer or others; and the officer may not shoot at a moving
   37  vehicle in a manner intended to cause bodily injury to the
   38  occupants of the vehicle and may only shoot to safely disable or
   39  slow down the vehicle; or
   40         2.(b) The officer reasonably believes that the fleeing
   41  felon has committed a crime involving the infliction or
   42  threatened infliction of serious physical harm to another
   43  person.
   44         (2) Deescalation techniques shall be used before resorting
   45  to deadly force.
   46         (3) For purposes of this section, the standard of force
   47  should be measured in an objective context, not a subjective
   48  one.
   49         (4) The level of force that officers are permitted to use
   50  to detain or arrest a suspect must be proportional to:
   51         (a) The suspect’s level of force.
   52         (b) Whether the subject is known to be armed and merely not
   53  suspected.
   54         (c) The severity of the criminal activity involved.
   55         (d) The actual level of danger that the subject poses to
   56  the officers and the public at the time of flight and takedown.
   57         (e) The necessary force to effectuate the arrest safely.
   58         Section 2. Section 943.17185, Florida Statutes, is created
   59  to read:
   60         943.17185 Pursuit of fleeing suspects.—
   61         (1) As used in this section, the term “law enforcement
   62  agency” has the same meaning as provided in s. 943.1718(1).
   63         (2) A law enforcement agency shall establish policies and
   64  procedures concerning the pursuit of fleeing suspects. The
   65  policies and procedures must include:
   66         (a) As it relates to motor vehicle pursuits:
   67         1. Requiring compliance with the standards in s.
   68  768.28(9)(d).
   69         2. Prohibiting high-speed pursuits in densely populated
   70  areas.
   71         3. Prohibiting shooting at moving vehicles.
   72         4. Other standards consistent with the public policy that
   73  protecting innocent persons is more important than punishing the
   74  guilty.
   75         (b) Concerning pursuit of alleged felons, regardless of
   76  manner of pursuit:
   77         1. Requiring that law enforcement officers pursue a person
   78  only when there is a reasonable certainty that apprehension of
   79  the person will prevent further physical harm to other
   80  individuals or the officer.
   81         2. Requiring that a pursuit end if significant property
   82  damage or harm to individuals seems probable.
   83         3. Prohibiting shooting at a fleeing individual who
   84  presents no immediate harm to an officer or any other person.
   85         (c) Alleged misdemeanants may only be pursued if the
   86  pursuing officer is reasonably certain to apprehend the person
   87  without damage to public property or harm to innocent persons.
   88         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.