Posted on 09/21/2020 11:55:55 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Florida counties and cities that cut funding from their police departments could lose out on state funding and grants.
Gov. Ron DeSantis put forward a proposal for the Combatting Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act on Monday, which in part targets communities looking to take part in the “Defund the Police” movement.
The act “prohibits state grants or aid to any local government that slashes the budget for law enforcement services.”
If passed, it would also increase possible criminal penalties for protestors if gatherings turn violent, result in property damage or cause road blockage.
The proposal states that if a protester is injured or killed by a driver who is “fleeing for safety from a mob” during an unpermitted protest, demonstration or violent or disorderly assembly that the driver is not liable for their injury or death.
The act would also add new criminal offenses to “combat rioting, looting and violence.” That includes making it a third-degree felony when seven or more “are involved in an assembly and cause damage to property or injury to other persons” and a second-degree felony to destroy public property during a violent or disorderly assembly.
In the act are also proposals to increase penalties for violence against law enforcement officers. That includes a mandatory six-month jail sentence for striking a law enforcement officer, including with a projectile, during a violent or disorderly assembly.
The act also proposes that no bond or bail be set for anyone charged with a crime related to participating in a violent or disorderly assembly until their first appearance in court.
DeSantis announced the proposal during a news conference at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office headquarters. He said it will be the top legislative item going into the 2021 session.
Watch his announcement in full below:
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In 2007, DeSantis reported to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group in Coronado, California, where he was assigned to SEAL Team One and deployed to Iraq[12] with the troop surge as the Legal Advisor to the SEAL Commander, Special Operations Task Force-West in Fallujah.[9][10][11]
He returned to the United States in April 2008, at which time he was reassigned to the Naval Region Southeast Legal Service. He was appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to serve as a federal prosecutor[12] at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida. DeSantis was assigned as a trial defense counsel until his honorable discharge from active duty in February 2010. He concurrently accepted a reserve commission as a lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the US Navy Reserve.[13] He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal.[9][10][11]
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