Seven years ago, Escambia County had to deal with armed code enforcement officers abusing their power. On Feb. 19, 2008, two days before the county commission voted to pay for the legal defense of its code enforcement officers, County Administrator Bob McLauglin sent a memo to Charlie Walker, head of code enforcement.
The memos stated:
McNesby has withdrawn all affiliation with code enforcement and asked that the code enforcement officers (CEO) return their commission cards asap.
CEOs don’t have arrest powers under Florida law
CEOs are not entitled to bear arms. However, they are authorized to “apply for and utilize valid concealed weapon permits for the purpose of self-defense.â€
CEOs can’t carry a firearm in a holster displayed openly on his or her belt. It must be concealed.
CEOs can’t drive vehicles with blue lights. “We will have to change the lights to amber or remove them altogether.â€
CEOs will be allowed to wear body armor as a component of their official uniform.
Here are couple more posts on the subject:
Sheriff concerned about Bubbas July 07
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Note: One trigger for former Commissioner Gene Valentino’s feud with Sheriff David Morgan was the sheriff’s refusal to re-arm code enforcement. Valentino had completely blocked from his memory how badly that went for the county.