By james art 
Tallahassee, FL – On January 15th, the Tallahassee City Commission held a final public hearing on Ordinance No. 24-O-40, which is to create a Citizen Police Review Board (CPRB). The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), along with other community members, opposed the dissolution of the CPRB ordinance.
The CPRB has been around since the George Floyd movement in 2020. and was originally created by John Daly, Mayor of Tallahassee. According to the City of Tallahassee’s website, the Citizen Police Review Board was created to “review completed Tallahassee Police Department internal affairs reports, cases and law enforcement matters of importance or interest to the community and the city, and to increase and demonstrate police accountability and public trust.”
Since the passage of Florida House Bill 601 by Republican Wyman Duggan, citizen review boards in the state of Florida have been systematically dismantled by city leaders. Although the city of Tallahassee claims they are legally compelled to get rid of the review board, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) disagree. In a notice sent to multiple Florida cities, the ACLU said “the legislation (HB 601), as enacted, has little or no practical impact on Florida’s existing citizen review panels” and does not require the boards to be disbanded.
However, the Tallahassee City Commission decided to hold a final vote on the CPRB, arguing that HB 601 makes the CPRB ordinance illegal. About a dozen community members gathered to speak in favor of keeping the CPRB ordinance, including former City Commission candidate Dot Inman Johnson and ACLU state organizer Madeline Bowman.
“We’ve seen in Florida a rise in this anti-democratic legislation aimed at stifling free speech,” said Bowman, who argued the city had no real legal responsibility to dissolve the Tallahassee Board of Control.
“The fact that one of the things that was brought up was the removal of accountability in the police department worries me,” said Dot Inman-Johnson, who ran against Curtis Richardson in the last local election.
Other community members and organizations argued for the need for police accountability and civilian oversight, attempting to demonstrate the need for the board to continue to exist.
“Implementation of the CPRB was a request of the people of Tallahassee,” said TCAC member Thomas Spears.
Before the CPRB’s final vote, both city commissioners Jack Porter and Jeremy Matlow spoke of their disapproval of removing the ordinance. Matlow spoke about the need for public oversight not only for the public, but also for the leadership of the city of Tallahassee.
After a 3-2 vote, with City Commissioners Porter and Matlow voting to keep the ordinance and Mayor Daley and Commissioners Curtis Richardson and Diane Williams-Cox voting to repeal it, the ordinance was officially terminated by the city.
While this is a roadblock to police accountability, Tallahassee activists vowed to keep fighting for police accountability no matter what. TCAC intends to focus its next campaign on the 2025 police budget. and to fight for funding for affordable housing, access to transportation and social services, instead of beefing up the police.
“No matter what happens, the community will continue to organize against police brutality. The names and stories of Tony McDaid, Michael Johnson, Wilbon Woodard and Raheem Reeder will live on. We will continue to organize for Calvin Riley and fight for him to get justice. If we don’t fight, we won’t win,” said Delilah Pierre, TCAC president.
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