Ten university police chiefs are at the center of an ethics complaint filed by gun rights group Florida Carry for allegedly violating Florida law by lobbying against a bill to allow concealed weapons permit holders to carry guns on campus, but the path to any formal charges is anything but certain.
The complaint, filed by Florida Carry attorney Eric Friday, says 10 police chiefs from different universities across Florida violated Florida statutes when they came to Tallahassee to testify against SB 176 and HB 4005, bills which would lift the ban on allowing concealed weapons on college campuses.
The House version of the bill sped through that chamber, but with only two weeks left to go for this years legislative session, the Senate bill appears to be dead on arrival.
The ethics complaint will carry on, however -- but just because a complaint has been filed doesnt necessarily mean its going to result in any penalties for the police chiefs.
Kerrie Stillman, spokesperson for the Florida Commission on Ethics, explained that out of hundreds of ethics complaints filed each year, only about 80 or so result in investigations, which can take anywhere from six to eight weeks to six to eight months.
When the commission receives a formal complaint, it will make a determination as to whether it has the jurisdiction to investigate the allegations written in the complaint. If the executive director determines theres jurisdiction, the investigation will move forward; if not, the complaint can be dismissed without an investigation at all.
We can only investigate matters that involve a possible violation of the ethics code, Stillman said. Anything that doesn't have facts that indicate there's a possibility of an ethics code violation is dismissed without investigation.
Attorney Eric Friday filed the complaint after one member of Florida Carry conducted a public records request into the police chiefs trips to the Capitol.
This is the first time Ive seen a situation so egregious that Florida Carry did not feel that we could just sit back and tolerate this kind of misconduct, he told SSN.
The documents they discovered, says Florida Carry, found the chiefs had been working on state time and taxpayers dime while testifying against the legislation.
State law prohibits the use of taxpayer funds and taxpayer time for these individuals to go to Tallahassee, Friday said.
Friday explained he hoped the state would be reimbursed for the officers taking time off of their jobs to head to the state Capitol.
We would like to make it clear that this does not happen in the future, he said.
If the commission finds the police chiefs violated the law, they could face a range of penalties.
Ultimately if somebody is found in violation, there is a range of penalties that can be recommended, said Kerrie Stillman. Anything from just a public reprimand up to removal from office or suspension. But the most common penalty is a monetary penalty. Civil penalties [cost] up to $10,000 per violation.
The complaint is still being considered by the Commission on Ethics.
Reach Tampa-based reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen
