Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 11B-27.0011 - Moral Character
(1) For the purpose
of certification, employment, or appointment, pursuant to procedures
established by paragraph
11B-27.002(1)(g)
and Rule 11B-27.00225, F.A.C., the
employing agency is responsible for conducting a thorough background
investigation to determine the moral character of an applicant, pursuant to
Section 943.13(7),
F.S.
(2) The unlawful use of any
controlled substances pursuant to Rule 11B-27.00225, F.A.C., by an applicant
for certification, employment, or appointment, at any time proximate to the
submission of application for certification, employment, or appointment,
conclusively establishes that the applicant is not of good moral character
pursuant to Section 943.13(7), F.S.
The unlawful use of any controlled substances specified in Rule 11B-27.00225,
F.A.C., by an applicant may or may not conclusively establish that the
applicant is not of good moral character pursuant to Section
943.13(7),
F.S., depending upon the type of controlled substance used, the frequency of
use, and the age of the applicant at the time of use. Nothing in this rule
chapter is intended to restrict the requirements of Section
943.13(7),
F.S., to controlled substance use only.
(3) Upon written request and submission of
materials, the Commission shall evaluate the qualification of an applicant to
determine compliance with "good moral character" pursuant to this rule section.
Written materials submitted to the Commission upon request for reinstatement of
certification shall include, if available, all prior Commission disciplinary
records, agency disciplinary records, victim statement(s), or citizen input.
The Notice of Petition for reinstatement shall be published in the Florida
Administrative Register or in the jurisdiction of the petitioning
agency.
(4) For the purposes of the
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission's implementation of any of
the penalties specified in Section
943.1395(6) or
(7), F.S., a certified officer's failure to
maintain good moral character required by Section
943.13(7),
F.S., is defined as:
(a) The perpetration by
an officer of an act that would constitute any felony offense, whether
criminally prosecuted or not.
(b)
Except as otherwise provided in Section
943.13(4),
F.S., a plea of guilty, an adjudication of guilt, or a verdict of guilty after
a criminal trial for any of the following misdemeanor or criminal offenses,
notwithstanding any suspension of sentence or withholding of adjudication, or
the perpetration by an officer of an act that would constitute any of the
following misdemeanor or criminal offenses whether criminally prosecuted or
not:
1. Sections
316.193,
316.1939,
327.35,
365.16(1)(c),
(d),
414.39,
499.03,
741.31,
784.011,
784.03,
784.047,
784.048,
784.05,
784.049(3)(a),
784.046(15),
790.01,
790.10,
790.15,
790.27,
794.027,
796.07,
800.02,
800.03,
806.101,
806.13,
810.08,
810.14,
812.014,
812.015,
812.14,
810.145,
817.235,
817.49,
817.563,
817.565,
817.61,
817.64,
827.04,
828.12,
831.30,
831.31(1)(b),
832.05,
836.12(2),
837.012,
837.05,
837.055,
837.06,
839.13,
839.20,
843.02,
843.03,
843.06,
843.085,
847.011,
856.021,
870.01,
893.13,
893.147,
901.36,
914.22,
934.03,
934.425,
944.35,
944.37,
944.39,
944.47, and
951.22, F.S.
2. Any principal, accessory, attempt,
solicitation, or conspiracy, pursuant to Chapter 777, F.S., which had the crime
been committed or completed would have been a felony offense; or
3. The perpetration of an act in any
jurisdiction other than the State of Florida, which if committed in the State
of Florida would constitute any offense listed in this rule section.
(c) The perpetration by an officer
of acts or conduct that constitute the following offenses:
1. Excessive use of force, defined as a use
of force on a person by any officer that is not justified under Section
776.05 or
776.07, F.S., or a use of force
on an inmate or prisoner by any correctional officer that would not be
authorized under Section
944.35(1)(a),
F.S.
2. Misuse of official
position, defined by Section
112.313(6),
F.S.
3. Having an unprofessional
relationship with an inmate, detainee, probationer or parolee, or community
controllee. An unprofessional relationship is defined as:
a. Having written or oral communication with
an inmate, detainee, probationer or parolee, or community controllee that is
intended to facilitate conduct prohibited by this rule section; or
b. Engaging in physical contact not required
in the performance of official duties, and is defined as kissing, fondling of
the genital area, buttocks, or breasts, massaging or similar touching, holding
hands, any other physical contact normally associated with the demonstration of
affection or sexual misconduct as applied to all certifications, which is
defined in Section 944.35(3),
F.S.
c. Engaging in a romantic
association with an inmate, detainee, probationer, parolee, or community
controlee. "Romantic association" is defined as the exchange of telephone
calls, pictures, letters, greeting cards, or any other form of oral or written
communication, which expresses feelings or thoughts of affection or the desire
to engage in a romantic relationship whether emotional or physical. This
subsection shall not apply to an officer who is legally married to an inmate,
detainee, probationer or parolee, or community controlee in the community, nor
does it apply to any officer who has no knowledge, or reason to believe, that
the person with whom the officer has engaged in a romantic association is an
inmate, detainee, probationer or parolee, or community controlee.
4. Sexual harassment pursuant to
and consistent with decisions interpreting
29 C.F.R.
1604.11, including unwelcome sexual advances,
requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
nature, when the harassment involves physical contact or misuse of official
position and when:
a. Submission to such
conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an
individual's employment; or
b.
Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the
basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or
c. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of
unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
5. Engaging in oral, anal, or vaginal
penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another person or engaging
in anal or vaginal penetration by any other object while on duty, or at any
time the officer is acting under the color of authority as a
Commission-certified criminal justice officer, and not done for a bona fide
medical purpose or in the lawful performance of the officer's duty.
6. False statements during the employment
application process.
7. Conduct
that subverts or attempts to subvert the State Officer Certification
Examination process pursuant to Rule
11B-30.009, F.A.C.
8. Conduct that subverts or attempts to
subvert the Basic Abilities Test process pursuant to subsection
11B-35.0011(1),
F.A.C.
9. Conduct that subverts or
attempts to subvert the examination process for Commission-approved training at
a Commission-certified training school or an employing agency promotional
examination process which shall include the following:
a. Removing from the examination room any of
the examination materials.
b.
Reproducing or reconstructing any portion of the examination.
c. Aiding by any means in the reproduction of
any portion of the examination.
d.
Selling, distributing, buying, receiving, or having unauthorized possession of
any portion of a past, current, or future examination.
e. Communication with any other examinee
during the administration of the examination.
f. Copying answers from another examinee, or
intentionally allowing one's answers to be copied by another examinee during
the administration of the examination.
g. Having in one's possession during the
administration of the examination, any books, notes, written or printed
materials, or data of any kind, not supplied as part of, or required for, the
test administration.
h. Falsifying
or misrepresenting information required for admission to the
examination.
i. Impersonating an
examinee.
j. Having an impersonator
take the examination on one's behalf.
k. Disrupting the test
administration.
l. Revealing the
test questions or other information that would compromise the integrity of the
examination.
10. Any
overt, conspicuous, or public act of a sexual or simulated sexual nature which
is likely to be observed by others.
11. Any willful and offensive exposure or
exhibition of his or her sexual organs in public or on the private premises of
another or so near thereto as to likely be seen except in any place provided or
set apart for that purpose.
12.
Willful failure of the agency administrator to comply with Chapter 943, F.S.,
as it pertains to the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission or
Commission rules.
13. Intentional
abuse of a Temporary Employment Authorization, pursuant to Section
943.131(1),
F.S.
14. Misuse of Electronic
Database. Willfully and knowingly accessing an electronic database within the
trust of an officer, by using said database to access restricted information
for an illegitimate or personal purpose with bad intent. Bad intent may be
evidenced by:
a. A pattern of misuse that
demonstrates improper accesses or violations.
b. If the violation occurred after the
officer received agency or Commission discipline for improperly accessing a
computer database, or after the officer received formal training on the
database(s) that includes provisions on the improper use of said
database(s).
c. The existence of a
current or past non-amicable or otherwise contentious relationship between the
officer and the subject of the query, or when the purpose of the query is to
identify person(s) linked or associated to said relationship.
d. Pre-textual queries based on age, race,
sex, gender, or other personal identifying characteristics.
e. Any additional action taken by the officer
as a result of the information obtained from the query, for example, retaining,
copying, or reproducing the information obtained from the query, or
disseminating information not listed as confidential or exempt in Chapter 119,
F.S., obtained as a result of the query.
15. Discriminatory Conduct:
a. The perpetration by the officer of either
a course of conduct or a single egregious act that evidences discriminatory
conduct based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age,
handicap, or sexual orientation, which does not involve an expression of public
concern, and which causes a clear and substantial belief in the mind of a
reasonable person that the officer cannot perform the duties of office in a
fair and impartial manner, with respect for the rights of others and laws of
the state and nation; or
b.
Knowingly, willfully, and actively participating in any activity committed with
the intent to benefit, promote, or further the interests of a "hate group", as
defined in Section 874.03(6),
F.S.
c. For the purposes of this
section, an expression of public concern shall mean an expression by an
individual as a citizen that relates to any matter of political, social, or
other concern of the community. Expressions of public concern are determined by
the content, form, and context of the given act or course of conduct, viewed by
the totality of the record.
(d) A certified officer's unlawful injection,
ingestion, inhalation, or other introduction of any controlled substance, as
defined in Section 893.03, F.S., into his or her
body as evidenced by a drug test in accordance with Section
112.0455,
440.102 or
944.474, F.S.
(5) A certified officer's failure
to maintain good moral character as defined in subsection (4) of this rule
section, by committing a violation involving perjury or false statement in a
court proceeding, shall not include a statement which was recanted. If the
violation involving perjury or false statement is alleged to have occurred in
the performance of regularly required work duties or the course of an
administrative or disciplinary investigation, a certified officer's failure to
maintain good moral character as defined in subsection (4) of this rule
section, shall not include a statement in which the officer making the
statement conceded such statement to be false prior to the employing agency's
conclusion of the internal affairs investigation in which the false statement
related to a material fact or within 10 calendar days of making the false
statement, whichever occurs first. For purposes of this subsection, the
employing agency's internal affairs investigation shall be deemed to be at a
conclusion upon the investigator's execution of the statement required by
Section 112.533(1)(a)2., F.S.
(6)
The employing agency shall forward to the Commission the agency's investigative
report pursuant to procedures established in Rule
11B-27.003, F.A.C., when an
allegation has been made that an officer has failed to maintain good moral
character, as defined in subsection (4) of this rule section, and has been
sustained by the employing agency, or an act of conduct by the officer has
resulted in the officer's arrest. The report shall be forwarded immediately
upon separation of the officer from employment, or, if the officer is not
separated from employment, within 45 days from the date an allegation has been
sustained, as set forth in this rule section.
(7) Commission staff's decision to initiate
presentation of a case for a Commission Probable Cause Determination shall be
based upon the following conditions:
(a)
Whether the allegations against the officer constitute a violation of
subsection (4) of this rule section or Section
943.13(4),
F.S.;
(b) Whether there is evidence
of probable cause to support the filing of a complaint; and,
(c) Whether a Letter of Acknowledgement is
warranted pursuant to subsections
11B-27.004(7)
-(11), F.A.C.
Notes
Rulemaking Authority 943.03(4), 943.12(1) FS. Law Implemented 943.13(7), 943.1395(7) FS.
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