Immunity for Law Enforcement Officers in Florida

Several provisions of Florida law provide immunity to law enforcement officers, including:

• Section 901.15(7) – A law enforcement officer who acts in good faith and exercises due care in making an arrest under this subsection, under § 741.31(4) or § 784.047, or pursuant to a foreign order of protection accorded full faith and credit pursuant to § 741.315, is immune from civil liability that otherwise might result by reason of his or her action.
• Section 741.29(5) – No law enforcement officer shall be held liable, in any civil action, for an arrest based on probable cause, enforcement in good faith of a court order, or service of process in good faith under this chapter arising from an alleged incident of domestic violence brought by any party to the incident.
• Section 741.315(4)(f) – A law enforcement officer acting in good faith under this section and the officer’s employing agency shall be immune from all liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed by reason of the officer’s or agency’s actions in carrying out the provisions of this section.

In Brown v. Woodham, 840 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003), the court found that the sheriff had a special duty of care as it was reasonably foreseeable that the individual, who was visiting the defendant’s wife at the time of the murder, would be in danger if the defendant was released from custody without sufficient warning. The sheriff released the individual from custody despite a court order of no bond and failed to notify his wife of his release despite having intercepted several letters written by the defendant expressing his intentions to harm his wife when released.

This article was last updated on Friday, August 16, 2024.