that on July 15, 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 the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office on behalf of certain officers. Subsection 11B-...

DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission

RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:
11B-27.00212: Maintenance of Officer Certification

The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission hereby gives notice:
that on July 15, 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 the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office 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 supports 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 states that the agency’s officers will 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. 30, July 29, 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. 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, [phone].