WTXL by Jada Williams
June 2, 2020
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Florida Police Benevolent Association has filed a motion in Leon County court to withhold the identity of the officer who shot and killed Natosha “Tony” McDade.
The 51 page motion, filed Monday by the union representing the officer who killed McDade, claims the officer was “the victim of an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”
As such, the group contends that the officer’s identity should not be released under Marsy’s Law. The president of the FPBA’s Big Bend chapter, Richard Murphy, shared the following statement with ABC 27:
Our officers have the same rights under Marcy’s Law as every other citizen. The officer involved is a victim of an aggravated assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer. It is unfortunate that the officer and the PBA have to seek a court order to protect the rights of a victimized law enforcement officer, but this is where we find ourselves. The PBA will exhaust every legal resource to uphold the officer’s rights under the law.
First Amendment Foundation president, P. Marsh says officers are supposed to serve the public and train for threatening situations, and withholding information goes against the transparency officers swear to uphold.
