The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission hereby gives notice:
that on August 11, 2011, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission has issued an order. The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission received a petition on July 1, 2011, for a permanent waiver of subsection 11B-27.00212(14), F.A.C., from DeLand Police Department on behalf of certain officers. Subsection 11B-27.00212(14), F.A.C., requires officers to requalify with a firearm every two years on a course of fire mandated by Commission rule. The petition supported the requested waiver by stating that the officers did successfully complete the course of fire, however, the firearms instructor who supervised the requalification shoots was not CJSTC certified at the time. Petitioner stated that the agency’s officers would suffer a substantial hardship if their certifications are rendered inactive as a result of this situation. Petitioner further states that it would violate the principles of fairness to fail to recognize that the officers affected by this situation did successfully complete the requirement simply because their instructor had not completed CJSTC firearms instructor certification prior to supervising the firearm requalifications. Notice of receipt of the petition was published in the F.A.W., Vol. 37, No. 28, July 15, 2011. On August 11, 2011, at its regularly scheduled business agenda meeting held in Tampa, Florida, the Commission found that the Petitioner’s situation is unique. The Petitioner demonstrated that the strict application of the Commission’s rules in this case would violate the principles of fairness. The Petitioner’s officers had, in fact, completed the Commission’s course of fire and achieved a passing score. The only deficiency in the officers’ firearms requalifications was that the firearms instructor who conducted the mandatory firearms requalifications for Petitioner’s officers had not complied with all administrative aspects of becoming a CJSTC certified firearms instructor on the date he supervised the requalification shoots. Further, the Petitioner ensured that its seven officers completed a successful re-shoot of the proper course of fire under a fully certified firearms instructor within 24 hours of discovering the deficiency. The Commission found that the purposes of the underlying statute, to ensure that officers receive adequate and timely retraining, will be met by granting this waiver request. The Commission granted the Petitioner’s waiver.
A copy of the Order or additional information may be obtained by contacting:
Grace A. Jaye, Assistant General Counsel, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, P. O. Box 1489, Tallahassee, FL 32327, (850)410-7676.