MELBOURNE, Fla. – At a time when police departments across the nation are working to become more transparent about police use of force,, Florida law enforcement agencies are broadly applying Marsy’s Law to keep secret the names of officers involved in such cases.
The latest example involves the Dec. 3 confrontation involving an 18-year-old Florida Institute of Technology student Alhaji Sow and Melbourne police along with campus security, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
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Sow, described as acting erratically as he struck and slapped students, was fatally shot after police said he lunged at an officer’s leg with a pair of scissors.
The Melbourne police department, citing Marsy’s Law, says their officer – who suffered a minor, in-the-line-of-duty injury - is the victim of a crime and his name will not be made public. In the past, under Florida’s public records laws, the names of officers involved in shootings or other incidents were released as part of a push toward transparency in government that began following the Watergate scandal.
But increasingly Florida law enforcement agencies, with the backing of an appellate court decision, are applying Marsy’s law to their on-duty officers. Marsy’s law is a state constitutional amendment that grants privacy rights to crime victims. A Leon Circuit judge had ruled that the law doesn’t apply to on-duty officers but a Florida appellate court in April reversed that ruling.
Arguments over the law could end up being heard before the Florida Supreme Court.
“The assistant city attorney said that we will not be releasing the name of the officer who was involved in the incident at Florida Tech. The officer requested confidentiality,” said Cheryl Mall, city spokeswoman.
The officer remains on administrative leave with pay, the agency reported.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is reviewing the use of deadly force in the case and will forward its investigative findings to the state attorney’s office.
[RELATED: Florida Tech student attacked police with scissors before fatal shooting, report says]
Florida Tech, a private university, also has not released the name of its security officer.
“While the FDLE is conducting its investigation, Florida Tech will not discuss the specifics of the incident, including providing the name of the involved employee. Florida Tech is a private, non-public institution and therefore there are no statutory exemptions that apply,” said Wes Sumner, spokesperson for the university.
Marsy’s Law was named after a University of California student who was killed in 1983 by an ex-boyfriend. Similar laws have been passed in over a dozen states.
Several law enforcement agencies across the state have cited the 2018 Florida Constitution amendment to keep the names of officers involved with deadly use of force cases from public documents. In Tallahassee, where two police officers fatally wounded a suspect, the Florida Benevolent Association filed suit to keep city officials from revealing the officers’ names.
The addresses of officers - along with mugshots, if arrested - are already exempt under state law.
The amendment itself identified crime victims and victimization but does not specify law enforcement agents who frequently may find themselves in situations involving endangerment.
Melbourne police, whose jurisdiction includes the 130-acre Florida Tech campus, were called to assist campus security officers on Dec. 3 after frantic reports of a knife-wielding man attacking students were called in to 911.
Sow, an aeronautical student, was confronted by police in a dorm room, hiding near a refrigerator and holding a pair of scissors. Investigators said he’d previously discarded a knife. Students reported hearing multiple gunshots in the hallways of Campbell Hall dormitory where the confrontation — captured on at least one Melbourne officer’s bodycam — ended.
The students punched and slapped by Sow sustained minor injuries.
Sow’s parents have hired a lawyer and are questioning whether less-lethal force could have been used to subdue their son.