a permanent waiver of Rule 11B-27.013(2) and (5), F.A.C., by Bradford County Sheriff’s Office on behalf of Sergeant Lee Gartno and K-9 Bara. The rule requires canine teams to complete 400 hours of instruction prior to certification and to ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission

RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:
11B-27.013: Canine Team Certification

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on April 15, 2013, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, received a petition for a permanent waiver of subsections 11B-27.013(2) and (5), F.A.C., by Bradford County Sheriff’s Office on behalf of Sergeant Lee Gartno and K-9 Bara. The rule requires canine teams to complete 400 hours of instruction prior to certification and to successfully complete an addition 40 hours recertification course. The Petition supports the waiver by asserting that the K-9 team did, indeed, complete all course work required for certification on December 6, 2011, and completed all course work for re-certification on December 13, 2012. The Petition states that a form CJSTC 70 was filed in both instances. However, a review of the forms revealed that they were not signed by the evaluator, as required. During all times pertinent to this rule waiver request, the K-9 team was actively deployed. The Petition states that the application of the rule in this case would create a substantial hardship for the agency and the K-9 team by taking the team off of patrol and forcing the team to go through evaluation again, which it has already successfully completed. The Petition further states that the application of the rule in this case would violate the principles of fairness in that the rule applies to the Petitioner and the K-9 team in a way that it does not apply to other, similarly situated, agencies and teams. The rule would sideline Petitioner’s K-9 team for a clerical error, whereas other teams affected by the rule would be inactivated for failure to train, which Petitioner states was not the case in this instance as the paperwork shows.
A copy of the Petition for Variance or Waiver 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 [phone].