The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission hereby gives notice:
That on November 4, 2011, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, received a petition for a permanent waiver of subsection 11B-27.00212(14), F.A.C., from Green Cove Springs Police Department on behalf of six officers for the 2008 and 2010 reporting period. 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 and supervised by a CJSTC-certified firearms instructor. The petition supported the requested waiver by stating that the officers at issue did successfully complete the course of fire, however, the instructors supervising the requalifications were not CJSTC-certified firearms instructors. Petitioner stated that the officers 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 six officers did successfully complete the requirement simply because non-CJSTC-certified firearms instructors supervised their 2008 and 2010 mandatory firearms retraining requalifications.
Notice of receipt of the petition was published in the Florida Administrative Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 46, on November 18, 2011.
On December 7, 2011, pursuant to notice, at a special telephonic meeting originating in Tallahassee, 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 to be supervised by non-CJSTC-certified firearms instructors. 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 issued an order granting 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 32302 or by telephoning (850)410-7676.