Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1628



By Senator Jones





35-01278-21 20211628__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to compensation for victims of
3 excessive use of force by law enforcement officers;
4 amending s. 960.03, F.S.; revising the definition of
5 the term “crime” to include victims of a law
6 enforcement officer’s excessive use of force for
7 purposes of the Florida Crimes Compensation Act;
8 amending s. 960.065, F.S.; providing eligibility for
9 compensation for a minor child of a nondeceased victim
10 for specified purposes; providing that specified
11 eligibility requirements apply to a victim of a law
12 enforcement officer’s excessive use of force; amending
13 s. 960.13, F.S.; prohibiting a crime victim
14 compensation award from being denied on certain
15 grounds if the claimant is a victim of a law
16 enforcement officer’s excessive use of force;
17 specifying that other evidence may be used to support
18 such a claim if no police report was filed concerning
19 the incident; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (3) of
24 section 960.03, Florida Statutes, to read:
25 960.03 Definitions; ss. 960.01-960.28.—As used in ss.
26 960.01-960.28, unless the context otherwise requires, the term:
27 (3) “Crime” means:
28 (g) The use of force by a law enforcement officer, as
29 defined in s. 943.10(1), that is beyond what is reasonable under
30 the totality of the circumstances, and that causes the victim
31 injury or death, regardless of whether the officer is arrested
32 for, or charged with, the commission of a crime.
33 Section 2. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of
34 section 960.065, Florida Statutes, and subsection (5) of that
35 section is amended, to read:
36 960.065 Eligibility for awards.—
37 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the following
38 persons shall be eligible for awards pursuant to this chapter:
39 (e) A minor child of a nondeceased victim of a crime as
40 defined in s. 960.03(3)(g) for the purposes of mental health
41 treatment and counseling.
42 (5) A person is not ineligible for an award:
43 (a) Pursuant to paragraph (2)(a), paragraph (2)(b), or
44 paragraph (2)(c) if that person is a victim of sexual
45 exploitation of a child as defined in s. 39.01(77)(g).
46 (b) Pursuant to subsection (2) or subsection (3) if that
47 person is a victim of a crime as defined in s. 960.03(3)(g).
48 Section 3. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (1) of
49 section 960.13, Florida Statutes, to read:
50 960.13 Awards.—
51 (1)
52 (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) or paragraph (b), if a
53 claim is based on injury or death as a result of a crime as
54 defined in s. 960.03(3)(g), the claim may not be denied based
55 upon a delay in reporting the crime, lack of a report of the
56 crime, or the victim’s failure to cooperate. If there is no
57 police report, the claim may be supported by other evidence to
58 establish that a crime occurred.
59 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.