ORLANDO, Fla. – Two Orlando police officers were shot and critically wounded late Friday during a traffic stop connected to a Florida homicide investigation, prompting a massive search for a suspect who was later located and shot to death, according to authorities.
The names of the officers, who were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, will not be released, according to police, citing Marsy’s Law, which gives crime victims privacy rights.
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According to the Marsy’s Law website, one in three Americans now live in a state with the law in their constitution. Florida is one of those states.
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Floridians approved an amendment to the State Constitution on Nov. 6, 2018 which preserved a specific set of “clear, enforceable rights and protections for crime victims,” according to the State Attorney’s Office, First Judicial Circuit of Florida, which serves Lake, Marion and Sumter counties.
The law is named after Marsalee (Marsy) Ann Nicholas, a University of California Santa Barbara student who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983.
“Only one week after her murder and on the way home from the funeral service, Marsy’s family stopped at a market to pick up a loaf of bread. It was there, in the checkout line, that Marsy’s mother, Marcella, was confronted by her daughter’s murderer. Having received no notification from the judicial system, the family had no idea he had been released on bail mere days after Marsy’s murder,” read in part a statement on the Marsy’s Law website.
The law seeks to give crime victims meaningful and enforceable constitutional rights equal to the rights of the accused.
In Florida, the Crime Victim’s Bill of Rights states that victims of crime or their lawful representatives, including the next of kin of homicide victims, are entitled to the right to be informed, to be present, and to be heard when relevant, at all crucial stages of criminal proceedings. These rights cannot interfere with the constitutional rights of the accused and include:
- Notification of the arrest, release or escape of the accused, if possible
- Advance notice of all court proceedings, if time permits
- Information on steps concerning freedom from intimidation
- Notification of scheduling changes
- Opportunity to have a victim advocate present during depositions
- Assistance in obtaining the return of recovered property
- A prompt and timely disposition of the case
- Prompt notification of the results of court proceedings
- To be informed, present and heard, when relevant, at all criminal proceedings
- Assistance in obtaining a Crime Victim Compensation, restitution and other service to which you may be entitled
- Upon request, notification to your employer and/or school when you must appear in court
- Opportunity to submit an oral or written impact statement at the time of sentencing
According to Article I, Section 16 of the Florida Constitution, the law states “The right to prevent the disclosure of information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim’s family, or which could disclose confidential or privileged information of the victim.”
The two Orlando police officers, whose names have not been released, were shot around 11 p.m. in the area of Washington Street and Garland Avenue by 28-year-old Daton Viel, who Smith described as having an extensive criminal history.
Dr. Michael Cheatham, Orlando Health chief surgical officer, updated the condition of the injured officers at this latest news conference, sharing they were both expected to make a full recovery after police said earlier Saturday that the officers were “fighting for their lives.”
“We had two officers brought to us about 11 o’clock last night. I can’t go into details, to protect their privacy, other than to tell you that both officers are with us. They’re with their families. We’ve been taking care of them during the night and we expect them to fully recover from their injuries that they sustained in the line of duty,” Cheatham said.
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