Steve Cordle
ECB Publishing, Inc.
You’re driving down the road and suddenly there is a blue light special behind you. You are being pulled over by a Florida Law Enforcement Officer (LEO). After asking you for your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance, he asks “Do you mind if I conduct a search of your vehicle?”
Wanting to cooperate, you say, “No sir. Go right ahead.”
As the LEO begins his search, you remember that you have supper in the oven at home and it is in danger of overcooking and burning. What do you do? Can you withdraw the consent that you volunteered? (Answer at the end of the story)
That scenario and question served as an ice breaker for a community meeting facilitated by Tallahassee Deputy Police Chief Tonja B. Smith to discuss community policing and “how to have better relationships with law enforcement,” Deputy Chief Smith said, “this is not about bashing the police. This is about how to work better together.”
Jefferson County Commissioner Gene Hall organized the hour long meeting held Friday, Aug. 7 at the Somerset Jefferson cafeteria for the purpose of discussing how to improve relations between law enforcement and the citizens of Jefferson County. Deputy Chief Smith is a 29 year veteran of Florida law enforcement, a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and a Monticello resident. “I have a vested interest in both sides and see things from both ends,” she remarked. NOBLE sponsors the Law in Your Community, an interactive program seeking to help citizens know their rights as they relate to interactions with the police, which was presented in Monticello about two years ago.
The Law in Your Community is a program that answers questions from community residents and at the end of the class, participants are put through scenarios to see how well they grasped the concepts presented. The last segment is a sort of role reversal, where citizens get to “arrest” the officers, which Smith said was always very interesting because the citizens are quicker to “shoot” than the officers.
Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) is also present in four Leon County schools 
through a partnership with the Department of Juvenile Justice where TPD actually teaches all seventh grade civics students and then Department of Juvenile Justice then follows the students for three years to see if they have any encounters with law enforcement. Over 1300 students have been taught by the TPD, but due to COVID, they have not been able to continue the program.
Also present were Jefferson County Sherriff Mac McNeill and JCSO Captain Bill Williams, Monticello Police Chief Fred Mosley, Major Rod Looney of Tallahassee Police Department, Greg Washington FSU Police Department, Captain Bill Massey, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Answer to the “ice breaker” question: According to Deputy Chief Smith the answer is “Yes.” Consent given, may be withdrawn at which time, absent a warrant or probable cause, the search must stop or it becomes an illegal search, barring anything found from being admitted in county.
You must be logged in to post a comment.