Police In FL Fight Proposed Law That Would Protect Their CIs

A last-minute deal with the state's most powerful law-enforcement agencies may rescue a bill known as "Rachel's Law" that sought to tighten oversight for the use of confidential informants.

Law-enforcement groups had targeted it for defeat, complaining that its requirement for written contracts, approval by defense attorneys and consultation with prosecutors and probation officers would have put informants at greater risk, scaring away their most valuable law-enforcement tool.

"Why create more policies and restrictions when we already have them," said Santa Rosa Sheriff Wendell Hall. "This will end confidential informants."

"This would end law enforcement," warned Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell.

The measure (SB 604) by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is named after 23-year-old Rachel Hoffman, a recent Florida State University graduate when she was killed last year working as an informant in an undercover drug sting for the Tallahassee Police Department.

Facing several drug charges, Hoffman wore a wire and was given $13,000 in cash to buy drugs and a gun from two suspected drug dealers on May 7. Her body was found in the woods in Taylor County 36 hours later.

Members of the Florida Police Chiefs Association and the Florida Sheriffs Association packed the meeting room when the Senate Criminal Justice Committee held a workshop on the measure.

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Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell is a lying sack of shit. If you watch the 20/20 video he embarrasses the shit out of himself trying to defend his departments actions.

Caught with a little over 5 ounces of marijuana and 6 ecstasy pills, the TPD lies to her and gets her to try and buy 1,500 ecstasy pills, 2 ounces of coke and a handgun from 2 men she had never met before. All this was arranged without her lawyers knowledge at the TPDs insistence.

Please watch the video for all the details. Some of my friends were very close to her and her death is a real tragedy that could have been avoided.

Not to mention they gave her $13,000 to buy all of that. What 23 year old girl has that much money for all of that crap?
The suspects figured it out on the spot and the Tallahassee police didn't follow them when they changed the location of the deal (to the middle of the woods).

It's hard to believe that police would want to use a 23 year old girl instead of a fully-trained and experienced under-cover officer but in this day and age, police can get away with anything. Why risk the lives of their own officers when they can use and throw away a little girl.