The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission hereby gives notice:
That on October 27, 2011, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission has issued an order.
On September 9, 2011, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, received a petition for a permanent waiver of subsection 11B-27.00212(14), F.A.C., by the Glades County Sheriff’s Office Police Department on behalf of two deputies for the 2008 and 2010 firearms requalification periods. Subsection 11B-27.00212(14), F.A.C., requires officers to requalify with a firearm under the supervision of a CJSTC-certified firearms instructor every two years on a course of fire mandated by Commission rule. Notice of receipt of the petition was published in the Florida Administrative Weekly Vol. 37, No. 39, September 30, 2011.
The petition supported the requested waiver by stating that one deputy’s paperwork for the 2006-2008 reporting period (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2008) is missing, however, the deputy has since successfully requalified twice. The second deputy’s CJSTC form 86A, which showed a successful requalification score, was signed by a non-CJSTC certified firearms instructor for the 2008-2010 reporting cycle (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2010). Petitioner stated that these two deputies will suffer a substantial hardship if their certifications are rendered inactive as a result of this situation. Petitioner further stated that it would violate the principles of fairness to fail to recognize that the deputies did successfully complete the firearms requalification requirement simply because the paperwork was misfiled in one case and the instructor was not CJSTC certified in the other.
On October 27, 2011, at its regularly scheduled business agenda meeting held in Ponte Vedra, 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 officer’s firearms requalifications was that: one deputy’s CJSTC 86A form was missing for the 2008 reporting cycle; and, one deputy’s CJSTC 86A form was signed by a non-CJSTC-certified instructor for the 2010 reporting cycle. 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 or by telephoning (850)410-7676.