Res No 106-16-14661RESOLUTION NO.1 °6"1 6"1 4661
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami
requesting that the Florida Legislature amend Florida Statutes,Section
775.085,to include enhanced penalties for felonies and misdemeanors
committed against law enforcement officers,firefighters,and emergency
services personnel due to their employment status.
WHEREAS,in 1989,the Florida Legislature enacted several statutes designed to address
theissue of hatecrimes.Section 775.085,FloridaStatutes,wascreatedtoincrease penalties for
convictions of crimes where therewas evidence of certain prejudice;and
WHEREAS,the legislature enacted the Hate Crimes Reporting Act,section 877.19,
Florida Statutes,that requires law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes tothe Florida
Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE);and
WHEREAS,the 1995 report of the Florida Attorney General found that a hate crime is
amongthemost insidious acts taken byone person againstanother,founded in prejudice and
intolerance.The report defined ahatecrimeasanact committed or attempted byone person or
group against another person orgroup,or their property,that inanyway constitutes an
expression of hatred toward the victim based onhisorher personal characteristics;and
WHEREAS,under section 775.085,Florida Statutes,criminal penalties are enhanced for
such hate-based acts.Asthe Florida Department of Law Enforcement notes inits Hate Crime
Report Manual,the motivation behind theactisthe key element in determining whether an
incident is hate-related.Reported hate crime offenses ranged in seriousness from vandalism and
intimidation to aggravated battery and murder;and
WHEREAS,there have been an increasing number of hate crimes against law
enforcement,firefighters and emergency personnel.
NOW THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI,FLORIDA:
Section 1.The Mayor andCity Commission of the City of South Miami hereby
encourages the Florida Legislature to amend Florida Statute,Section 775.085 to include
employment aslaw enforcement officers,firefighters,and emergency services personnel among
the classifications that are protected against hate crimes asfollows:
775.085 Evidencing prejudice whilecommitting offense;
reclassification.—
(1)(a)The penalty forany felony or misdemeanor shall be reclassified as
provided in this subsection if the commission of such felony or misdemeanor
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Res.No.106-16-14661
evidences prejudice based onthe race,color,ancestry,ethnicity,religion,sexual
orientation,national origin,homeless status,mental or physical disability,or
advanced age of the victim,or because of actual or perceived employment asa
law enforcement officer,firefighter,or emergency services personnel:
1.A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified toa misdemeanor
of the first degree.
2.A misdemeanor of thefirst degree is reclassified toa felony of the third
degree.
3.A felony of the third degree is reclassified toa felony of the second
degree.
degree.
A felony of the second degree is reclassified toa felony of thefirst
5.A felony of thefirst degree is reclassified toalife felony,
(b)As used in paragraph (a),the term:
1."Mental or physical disability"means that the victim suffers from a
condition of physical or mental incapacitation duetoa developmental disability,
organic brain damage,or mental illness,andhasoneor more physical or mental
limitations that restrict the victim's ability to perform the normal activities of
daily living.
2."Advanced age"means that the victim is older than 65 years of age.
3."Homeless status"means that the victim:
a.Lacks afixed,regular,and adequate nighttime residence;or
b.Has a primary nighttime residence that is:
(1)A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide
temporary living accommodations;or
(II)A public or private place not designed for,or ordinarily used as,a
regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
4."Emergency services personnel"shall mean anyonewho provides
emergency medical services and other public safety services tothescene of an
emergency.
5."Firefighter"means any firefighter regularly employed byafire
department of any municipality,county,or Special Fire Control District of the
state of Florida.
6."Law enforcement officer"meansanyactiveor retired municipal,
county,or state law enforcement officer,state and county correctional officer,or
PublicServiceAids,andthoseemployees of anymunicipal,county,stateor
federal law enforcement agencies whose duties include the enforcement of
municipal,county,state or federal laws.
(2)A person or organization that establishes byclearand convincing
evidence that it has been coerced,intimidated,or threatened in violation of this
section hasacivilcause of actionfortreble damages,an injunction,oranyother
appropriate relief inlaworinequity.Upon prevailing insuchcivilaction,the
plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney's feesandcosts.
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Res.No.106-16-14661
(3)Itisan essential element of this section thattherecordreflectthatthe
defendant perceived,knew,orhad reasonable groundstoknowor perceive that
the victim was within the class delineated in this section.
Section 2.TheCity Clerk is hereby instructed tosendacopy of this resolution tothe
members of theFloridaLegislature,theGovernorandhiscabinet,theFloridaDepartment of
Law Enforcement as well astoall of thelaw enforcement agencies of all of the Florida counties
and municipalities.
Section 3.Severability.If any section clause,sentence,or phrase of this resolution isfor
any reason held invalid or unconstitutional bya court of competent jurisdiction,the holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
Section 4.Effective Date.This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
adoption by vote of the City Commission.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7th_day of June 2016.
TEST:APPROVED:
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MAY£)R
COMMISSION VOTE:5-0
Mayor Stoddard:yea
Vice Mayor Welsh:Yea
Commissioner Harris:Yea
Commissioner Edmond:Yea
Commissioner Liebman:Yea