Tallahassee demands reinstatement of Citizens Police Review Board

Tallahassee, FL – On November 6, community members came together at Tallahassee City Hall to demand the restoration of Tallahassee’s Citizens Police Review Board. The board was created in 2020 but was quietly shut down earlier this year by conservative city commissioners.

Those city commissioners, who falsely cited state House Bill 601 as the reason for the end of the board, maintain a conservative majority on the commission after this year’s elections. The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) has been vocal about this unjust shut down and the obvious lack of accountability that the Tallahassee Police Department has.

Earlier this year, after the quiet dissolution of the CPRB, Tallahassee police officers Kiersten Oliver and Margaret Mueth committed a grave act of misconduct against resident Calvin Riley, planting evidence on him and arresting him. They have not been disciplined and the city has not even issued an apology to Riley or his family.

The November 6 protest included members of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, joined by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Students for a Democratic Society, Florida Rising, Dream Defenders, Tally Dissenters, and Food Not Bombs.

Delilah Pierre, president of TCAC, began the rally with chants of “When killer cops are on patrol, what do we need? Community control!”

JJ Glueck from Students for a Democratic Society stated, “This review board is for all of us. We righteously demand that the city of Tallahassee restore the Civilian Police Review Board to its full powers to protect ourselves. There’s no rest for the wicked and so there’s no rest for the righteous and we righteously demand this.”

Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Katy Kurzweil added, “During George Floyd’s rebellion, we saw the power of the people forever change the perception of the police, and we won the struggle to get a Civilian Police Review Board in Tallahassee.”

The speakers galvanized the crowd to participate in public comment section of the city commission meeting. Over 20 people spoke out in favour of the reinstatement of Tallahassee’s Civilian Police Review Board As a member of TCAC, said, “The people want a say in how their community progresses. It’s disgusting that people have deep roots in their community and this is how we’re treated. $140 million for a police headquarters but no money to address the root of the problem and no accountability for the police.”

Regardless of this year’s election results, members of the Tallahassee community will continue to fight for the restoration of the CPRB with its full powers, and for greater community control of the police in the future. Plans remain in place to attend all future city commission meetings.

#TallahasseeFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #TallyCAC