due to space and to reiterate our ongoing demand
The Leon County Grand Jury returned indictments this afternoon against Andrea Green and Deneilo Bradshaw for the murder of Rachel Hoffman. The Grand Jury also said that “negligent conduct” by the Tallahassee Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency contributed to the death of Rachel Hoffman.
5:30pm The city of Tallahassee just released the following statement on today's grand jury action in the Rachel Hoffman case:
The City of Tallahassee and the Police Department have been deeply saddened by the death of Rachel Hoffman. This tragic incident has certainly affected Rachel’s family and our entire community including law enforcement officers.
Our commitment is to take whatever actions are necessary to keep this from happening again in our community.
The Leon County Grand Jury returned indictments this afternoon against Andrea Green and Deneilo Bradshaw for the murder of Rachel Hoffman. The Grand Jury also said that “negligent conduct” by the Tallahassee Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency contributed to the death of Rachel Hoffman.
We take the Grand Jury presentment very seriously.
It’s important to note that some of the actions found and outlined in the Grand Jury’s presentment have been taken by Tallahassee’s Chief of Police, Dennis Jones. Among them:
The temporary suspension of Confidential Informants in narcotics operations. This went info effect on May 16.
Search warrants and operations plans will now go to the Chief of Police, through the chain of command, for final approval. That went into effect on June 1.
Personnel changes are also a part of these actions. The Vice Unit now reports to the Criminal Investigation Division, Captain David Hendry. They previously reported to our Homeland Security Division. Lieutenant Joani Chase was assigned as the Vice Unit’s supervisor. Lieutenant Chase has previously served as the unit’s supervisor. The lieutenant who was in charge of the Vice Unit during this operation was re-assigned as a supervisor in the Administrative Services Division. These actions took effect on June 7.
Statement by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Division, Mark R. Trouville:
“DEA Agents, working with our state and local law enforcement partners, routinely provide testimony in state drug prosecutions. DEA cooperated fully with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation of the death of Rachel Hoffman and have been more than willing to cooperate with the State Attorney’s Office. We feel it is important for the public to know that DEA did not refuse to testify before the grand jury in this case. Although notified both verbally and in writing by DEA, the State Attorney’s Office refused to comply with Department of Justice regulations (which have been respected by the Florida Supreme Court) and therefore DEA Agents did not receive authorization to testify before the grand jury. In order to comply, the State Attorney’s Office simply needed to issue a subpoena and provide the local United States Attorney’s Office a summary of the information sought and its relevance to the proceeding.”
COMMENT: SO WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY SAYING????
In violation of its own policy on buy-bust operations, TPD allowed the two men, Deneilo Bradshaw, 23, and Andrea Green, 25, to set the location of the controlled drug buy with Hoffman, the grand jurors found.
Although Hoffman was participating in drug court, the officers also failed to notify the state attorney about the drugs seized from Hoffman’s home or their intent to use her as an informant, the grand jurors’ report states.
Confidential informants should not be allowed to make important decisions like going to a controlled drug buy alone, said the grand jurors. They shouldn’t be allowed to go alone to buy a gun.
Officers should have ended their agreement with Hoffman to drop charges if she became an informant once she failed to follow instructions on more than one occasion, the grand jurors said. Even if they were going to use her, they had an obligation to protect her.
“Less than 15 minutes after she drove away from the offices of TPD, she drove out of the sight of the officers who assured her they would be right on top of her watching and listening the whole time,” the grand jurors wrote. “She cried out for help as she was shot and killed, and nobody was there to hear her.”
Updated 6:07 p.m.
Here is the statement Tallahassee Police Chief Dennis Jones delivered at a press conference about 5:30 p.m. at TPD headquarters:
“First of all, I would like to thank the citizens who have taken the time to serve on the grand jury. I take the grand jury’s findings very seriously. This is only one of the initial steps in the lengthy judicial process.
“The grand jury has had access to information from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other witnesses that previously had not been available to us due to an ongoing criminal investigation.
“I intend to continue the Tallahassee Police Department’s internal investigation, and in cooperation with the Attorney General’s Office, I will focus on taking additional steps to ensure the safety of our citizens and that a tragedy of this nature never happens again in the city of Tallahassee. We will obtain justice for Rachel Hoffman and her family."
From the editorial that can be found here
Above all, in their zeal to capture the law breakers, officers of the law must not be interjecting more danger and doing more harm.
Yet, as the grand jury declared in its presentment, that is precisely what they did in "letting a young, immature woman get into a car by herself with $13,000 to go off and meet two convicted felons that they knew were bringing at least one firearm with them." This "unconscionable decision," the grand jury said, "cost Ms. Hoffman her life."
Coupled with the grand jury's indictment of Andrea Green and Deneilo Bradshaw on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery with a firearm and other charges, the report paints a picture of incompetence that must be responded to with no equivocation by city officials. A grand jury's indictment is not a finding of guilt or innocence; and a presentment is a recommendation without force of law.
This extraordinary situation calls for far more than an ordinary covering-all-bases, face-saving political reaction.
Ongoing investigations by Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Attorney General's Office are vital, but the final responsibility is in the hands of top city officials, who have pledged to "expeditiously determine what further actions" the city needs to take and keep the community informed.
As reassuring as this is in light of the grand jury's report, the internal changes made weeks ago should have been announced much sooner to reduce public anxiety and lack of confidence in its police department.
AND CHIEF JONES WAS HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT PRECIPITATED THIS DEBACLE THAT DELIBERATELY PUT LIFE AT RISK? AND HE IS STILL HEAD OF THAT DEPARTMENT AND OUR ANXIETY IS TO BE REDUCED AND OUR CONFIDENCE INCREASED????????????
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