Should police officers be protected by Marsy's Law? - WPEC

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Should a police officer’s identity be kept from the public under a law meant to protect crime victims from unwanted media coverage? That’s the question being asked right now after deadly dirt bike crash involving a 13-year-old boy in Boynton Beach last month.

Stanley Davis III was riding his dirt bike illegally when a police officer tried to pull him over. The teenager did not stop, but rode away, crashed, and died on the scene.

Now, the officer has invoked Marsy’s Law, which is meant to protect crime victims’ identities.

The reason: threats against the officer and his family, made him a victim, too.

CBS12 News reporter Andrew Lofholm interviewed police union president, John Kazanjian on Wednesday.

“Why is the police officer in this case a victim?” Lofholm asked Kazanjian.

“He’s a victim because of the threats that came afterwards,” he said. “I think the feds are working on the investigation. He is a victim of some threats, some death threats, so he’s a victim.”

In the month since Davis died, the community has been demanding answers. Who is this officer? What is his record? Could this have been avoided?

“We think this is an overbroad, misapplication of a constitutional amendment, which was to protect victims of crime,” Virginia Hamrick, a staff attorney for the First Amendment Foundation, said in an interview with CBS12 News.

“Why do you think it’s important that this officer’s name is released?” Lofholm asked her.

“It’s important for accountability, for the community to know if this was a one-off instance. Has this law enforcement officer ever been involved in a similar situation?” she said.

Hamrick notes law enforcement has plenty of safeguards in place when they are threatened.

“The officer’s Bill of Rights and records exceptions exempting the home address of law enforcement officers, protections for their spouses and their children,” Hamrick said.

Lofholm asked Kazanjian, “I’m sure every police officer that’s part of the union in Florida has been threatened at some point or another. Could theoretically all the police officer’s names be pulled from the public record under Marsy’s Law because of this?”

“Well, it depends. If you’re going to pull the case number. But listen, it’s a high threshold to be a victim of a threat,” he said. “You’re right, people threaten us all day long, how many of them actually get arrested and how many are actually placed in handcuffs, arrested, put in jail and the officer is the victim?”

Floridians will have an answer on how to handle a case like this sometime this year. the Florida Supreme Court is going to decide how Marsy’s law should be interpreted for law enforcement personnel.

source: https://cbs12.com/news/local/should-police-officers-be-protected-by-marsys-law-stanley-davis-deadly-dirt-bike-crash-boynton-beach

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