Notice of Variances and Waivers

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 on December 16, 2010 hereby gives notice:
On November 22, 2010, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC) received a Petition for Waiver of subsection 11B-27.00212(14), F.A.C., from Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office. subsection 11B-27.00212(14), F.A.C., requires officers to requalify with a firearm every two years by completing a course of fire with a passing score as mandated by the rule and administered by a CJSTC certified firearms instructor. The Petition covered the requalification shoots of 29 named officers. The officers had successfully requalified by shooting the correct course of fire and receiving passing scores, however, the three firearms instructors who supervised the shoots were not fully CJSTC certified at the time of the shoots. This request covered the requalifications of these 29 officers for the 2008 and 2010 requalification deadlines. The CJSTC published notice of this Petition in the Florida Administrative Weekly Vol. 36, No. 49, December 10, 2010.
On December 16, 2010, at a publicly noticed business agenda meeting held via teleconference, 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 resulting in the need to for the Petitioner to requalify 29 officers who would be separated automatically by the CJSTC from 2008 to the time the officers requalified yet again, even though the officers had completed the requirements of the rule by shooting the correct course of fire both in 2008 and 2010. This separation of otherwise fully qualified officers would be mandated by the rule simply because the three instructors supervising the shoots were not fully CJSTC certified at the time of the shoots. The Commission found that the purposes of the underlying statute, to ensure that officers are properly trained, will be met by granting this waiver request. The Commission granted the Petitioner a permanent waiver of the rule for the 29 officers for the 2008 and 2010 firearms requalification reporting cycles.
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, or by telephoning (850)410-7676.