Free Republic

A woman wearing a “Hail Satan” shirt declared at a recent Escambia County Florida school board meeting that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is “Tropical Hitler” and asserted that parents are unqualified to teach their own children about sex. The woman addressed the board, lamenting the DeSantis administration’s efforts to root out Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) scams in colleges and universities and halt efforts to indoctrinate children in grade school.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale was hospitalized Sunday after he threatened to harm himself, according to Florida police and campaign officials. Police officers talked Parscale out of his Fort Lauderdale home after his wife called police to say that he had multiple firearms and was threatening to hurt himself. Police Sgt. DeAnna Greenlaw said Parscale was hospitalized under the state’s Baker Act, which allows anyone deemed to be a threat to themselves or others to be detained for 72 hours for psychiatric evaluation. “Brad Parscale is a member of our family and we...

Nobody wants dangerous people to get guns. In the wake of the West Freeway Church of Christ attack, people are pushing red-flag laws, which allow police to take away the guns of people deemed dangerous to themselves or others. But a better alternative already exists.

Talk about a facepalm moment. Is it the media’s stupidity or stacking sandbags because they know this National Rifle Association initiative could gain traction? You decide. The NRA wants more armed guards in schools. Teachers should be allowed to carry as well. After the tragic Sandy Hook shooting, the school board voted to approve this proposal. This is not an alien concept. A lot of schools have resource officers; Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the most recent school shooting on February 14, had such officers. They failed to engage the shooter, Nikolas Cruz. Scores of teachers in...

Under the 'Baker Act' law, the homeless can be held up to 72 hours before the state would have to go to court to prolong their detention.On what is likely the last clear day in Florida before Hurricane Irma's monster wind and rain, social workers and police officers are giving Miami's estimated 1,100 homeless people a stark choice: Come willingly to a storm shelter, or be held against their will for a mental health evaluation. With the outer edge of the storm approaching Friday, these officials — backed by a psychiatrist and observed by an Associated Press team — rolled...

The Baker act, also known as the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, Florida Statute 394.451-394.47891 or commonly known as the Baker Act. A draconian and unjust law that allows the involuntary institutionalization and examination of an individual for any reason at all. The Baker Act allows for involuntary examination (what some call emergency or involuntary commitment). It can be initiated by judges, law enforcement officials, physicians, or mental health professionals. There must be evidence that the person possibly has a mental illness or is a harm to self, harm to others or self neglectful. Truthfully these standards are...

A man who struck officers with a broomstick was twice shot with Tasers that didn't work before he was killed in a police-involved shooting in Miami Gardens, officials said Tuesday. Miami Gardens Police Chief Stephen Johnson said two officers deployed their Tasers on 25-year-old Lavall Hall shortly before he was killed Sunday by an officer who was also involved in a fatal 2013 shooting.

Ironically were it not for Frances Robles writing a Miami Herald article on March 26th 2012 an entire chain of events would not have taken place. It was that Robles article, and the outlining of the Miami-Dade School Police Department’s report on a Trayvon Martin incident from October 2011, that kicked off an internal investigation by M-DSPD Police Chief Hurley against his own officers to find out who leaked the police report.[Note: The Miami-Dade Public School System has its own Police force, and Chief, who report to the School Board and Superintendent - Not the Police Dept. The Police Chief...

LARGO — Police this week removed an unruly 7-year-old from his classroom and forced him to be hospitalized under the state's Baker Act — against the wishes of his outraged parents. The boy spent the night alone at Morton Plant Hospital before he was seen by a child psychologist the next day and discharged. "This is a total abuse of police power," said the boy's father, Richard Smith, 41. "My son has no mental health problems. He's never hurt himself. He's never hurt anyone else." Smith and his wife, Barbara, said they want to consult a lawyer. But Largo deputy...

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A dispute gone awry Neighborhood feud leads to claim of Baker Act abuse LONGBOAT KEY -- When deputies came to Jean Pierre Villar's home to commit him to a mental hospital, he tried to convince them he was the victim of a neighborhood feud gone too far. Villar, 40, wanted the deputies to come in and talk to him. He'd recently had back surgery, requiring him to wear a back brace and use a walker to get around. He needed to explain he was in no condition to go anywhere. But the deputies had their instructions: A commitment order, signed...