Mutual Aid Agreement between Miami-Dade County and The City of Miami Beach for Threat Management Section 20 2Q =3l2-c5C.
MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
AND
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
FOR THE
THREAT MANAGEMENT SECTION
WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the governments of Miami-Dade County and the
City of Miami Beach to ensure the public safety of their citizens by providing adequate levels of
police services; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Beach have the authority under
Section 23.12, Florida Statutes, et seq., the Florida Mutual Aid Act, to enter into a Mutual Aid
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, this Mutual Aid Agreement is entered into by Miami-Dade County, by and
through its department, the Miami-Dade Police Department and the City of Miami Beach, by and
through its department, the Miami Police Department. For readability and brevity, this Mutual
Aid Agreement will herein be referred to as the "MAA", Miami-Dade County will be referred to as
the "COUNTY", the City of Miami Beach will be referred to as the "CITY", and when referred to
collectively the COUNTY and CITY will be referred to as the "PARTIES", and where referred to
singularly, the COUNTY or CITY may be referred to as a "PARTY"; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this MAA is to allow the CITY to assist the COUNTY with its
Threat Management Section which was created to perform 1) Case management for individuals
detained under Florida's Baker Act statute and identified as a high utilizer or have displayed
violent tendencies; 2) Threat assessment and case management involving individuals identified
as a person of concern with a believed mental condition (MC), who have engaged in or are
suspected of noncriminal behavior that could lead to a targeted acts of violence to others; and
3) Provide follow-up threat assessment and case management for individuals who have been
served with a Risk Protection Order (RPO) and believed to have a MC., outside of the
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jurisdictional boundaries of the CITY as both PARTIES recognize that individuals and persons
of concern do not operate with regard to jurisdictional boundaries; and
WHEREAS, the identification and interaction of these individuals or persons of concern
should reduce the number of mental health crisis calls-for-service and potentially server as an
interrupter to a targeted act of violence both inside and outside CITY limits regardless of where
these individuals or persons of concern reside; and,
WHEREAS, this MAA is separate from, and more specific in purpose than, the "Law
Enforcement Mutual Aid Agreement for Voluntary Cooperation and Operational Assistance",
signed by COUNTY and CITY representatives.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT KNOWN that the COUNTY and the CITY, and the
undersigned representatives, invoke mutual aid and voluntary cooperation between the Director
of the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Chief of Police of the Miami Police Department
by signing this MAA, for the purposes described herein pursuant to the Florida Mutual Aid Act,
ss. 23.12 - 23.22, Florida Statutes, and in consideration for mutual promises to render valuable
aid, do hereby agree to fully and faithfully abide by and be bound by the following terms and
conditions.
SECTION I. DEFINITIONS
1. Chief Executive Official: Either the Mayor of the COUNTY, or the Mayor of the CITY,
who has the authority to contractually bind the respective law enforcement agency and
has executed this Agreement, upon the approval of the governing body of each of the
PARTIES. Subsequent to the execution by the executive officials, this Agreement shall
be filed with the Clerk of the Court for the COUNTY, and the Clerk of the CITY. This
MAA may be amended at any time by filing subsequent Amendment(s), which will be
subject to the same approval process, and shall thereafter become a part of this MAA.
2. Agency Head: The Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, or the Director's
designee; and the Chief of Police of the Miami Police Department, or the Chief's
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designee.
3. Certified law enforcement employee: Any law enforcement employee certified as
provided in Chapter 943, Florida Statutes.
SECTION II. TERMS AND PROCEDURES
1. Operations:
a. The CITY agrees to furnish necessary manpower, equipment, facilities, and other
resources and to render services to the COUNTY as required to assist the COUNTY
to assist in the effectuation of a Risk Protection Order, interact with individuals
believed to have a mental condition, and perform threat assessments of persons of
concern, outside of the jurisdictional boundaries of the CITY, however, the CITY shall
not be required to deplete unreasonably its own manpower, equipment, facilities, and
other resources and services in rendering such assistance.
b. The agency heads, or their designees, shall establish procedures for giving control of
the mission definition to the COUNTY, and for giving tactical control over
accomplishing any such assigned mission and supervisory control over all personnel
or equipment provided pursuant to this MAA to the COUNTY.
2. Powers, Privileges, Immunities, and Costs:
a. All employees of the City of Miami Police Department, including certified law
enforcement employees as defined in Chapter 943, Florida Statutes, during such
time that said employees are actually providing aid outside of the jurisdictional limits
of the City pursuant to a request for aid made in accordance with this MAA, shall,
pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 23, Florida Statutes, have the same powers,
duties, rights, privileges, and immunities as if they were performing their duties in the
party in which they are normally employed.
b. The party having financial responsibility for the law enforcement agency providing
services, personnel, vehicles, equipment, or facilities pursuant to the provisions of
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this MM shall bear any loss or damage to same and shall pay any and all expenses
incurred in the maintenance and operation of same.
c. The CITY shall compensate all of its employees rendering aid pursuant to this MM
and shall defray the actual travel and maintenance expenses of such employees
while they are rendering such aid. Such compensation shall include any amounts
paid or due compensation due to personal injury or death while such employees are
engaged in rendering such aid. Such compensation shall also include all benefits
normally due such employees.
d. All exemption from ordinances and rules, and all pension, insurance, relief, disability,
workers' compensation, salary, death, and other benefits which apply to the activity
of such officers, agents, or employees of any PARTY when performing their
respective functions within the territorial limits of their respective agencies shall apply
to them to the same degree, manner, and extent while engaged in the performance
of their functions and duties extra territorially under the provisions of this MM. The
provisions of this MAA shall apply with equal effect to paid and auxiliary employees.
3. Indemnification: Each PARTY participating in the Threat Management Section pursuant
to this MAA agrees to assume responsibility for the acts, omissions, or conduct of such
party's own employees while participating herein and pursuant to this MAA, subject to
the provisions of Section 768.28, Florida Statutes, where applicable. "Assume
Responsibility" shall mean incurring any and all costs associated with any suit, action, or
claim for damages arising from the performance of this agreement.
4. Forfeitures: Investigators operating pursuant to this MAA may encounter property
subject to forfeiture pursuant to the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, Florida Statutes.
Such property may be seized, forfeited, and equitably distributed among the PARTIES in
proportion to the amount of investigation and participation performed by each law
enforcement agency, less the costs associated with the forfeiture action. The COUNTY
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shall have the exclusive right to control and maintain the property, including, but not
limited to, the complete discretion to bring the action, or to dismiss the action, or to
negotiate a settlement. All seizures (currency, narcotics, evidence or other property) will
remain in the control and custody of Miami-Dade Police officers and will be impounded
in accordance with COUNTY procedures. The CITY must request its share of seized
property in writing when the initial seizure documentation is provided to the Miami-Dade
Police Department, Police Legal Bureau, or the CITY will be barred from claiming any
portion of the seized property that may be ultimately forfeited.
5. Conflicts: Any conflicts between this MAA and the Florida Mutual Aid Act will be
controlled by the provisions of the latter, whenever conditions exist that are within the
definitions stated in Chapter 23, Florida Statutes.
SECTION III. COMMAND AND SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
1. Command: The personnel and equipment that are assigned by the CITY shall be under
the immediate command and direct supervision of a supervising officer designated by
the Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, or his/her designee.
2. Conflicts: Whenever an officer is rendering assistance pursuant to this MAA, the officer
shall abide by and be subject to the rules and regulations, personnel policies, general
orders, and standard operating procedures of his or her own employer. If any such rule,
regulation, personnel policy, general order or standard operating procedure is
contradicted, contravened or otherwise in conflict with a direct order of a superior officer
of the COUNTY, then such rule, regulation, policy, general order or procedure of the
CITY shall control, and shall supersede the direct order.
3. Complaints: Whenever there is cause to believe that a complaint has arisen as a result
of a cooperative effort as it may pertain to this MAA, the Director or Chief of Police, or
his/her designee of the agency employing the officer who is the subject of the complaint
shall be responsible for the investigation of the complaint. The Director or Chief of
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Police or designee should ascertain at a minimum:
• The identity of the complainant;
• An address where the complainant can be contacted;
• The specific allegation; and;
• The identity of the employees accused without regard as to agency affiliation.
If it is determined during the investigation of a complaint that the accused is an
employee of the CITY, the above information, with all pertinent documentation gathered
during the receipt and processing of the complaint, shall be forwarded without delay to
the CITY for administrative review. The COUNTY may conduct a review of the
complaint to determine if any factual basis for the complaint exists and/or whether any of
the employees of the COUNTY violated any of the COUNTY's policies or procedures.
SECTION IV. PROVISIONS FOR MUTUAL AID AND VOLUNTARY AND OPERATIONAL
ASSISTANCE
1. In compliance with and under the authority of this MAA heretofore entered into by the
COUNTY and the CITY, it is hereby declared that COUNTY is requesting assistance
from the CITY to interact, conduct welfare checks and engage individuals believed to
have a mental condition and/or be a person of concern, outside of the jurisdictional
boundaries of the CITY.
2. A deputy sheriff or police officer of either the COUNTY or the CITY shall be considered
to be operating under the provisions of this MAA when participating in law enforcement
activities that are preplanned and approved by each respective agency head or
appropriately dispatched for the purposes of this MAA.
3. The CITY agrees to provide personnel to the COUNTY to achieve the purposes of this
MAA. CITY personnel will only be assigned to participate in operations and
investigations governed by this MAA after receiving approval from the COUNTY through
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the Miami-Dade Police Department.
4. The COUNTY and the CITY will furnish their own vehicles and will be responsible for the
expenses, maintenance and any liability incurred with respect to the use of their
respective vehicles.
5. RECORDS AND REPORTS: All investigative reports and arrest reports will be
maintained by the COUNTY. With respect to any other records that either PARTY may
maintain, each PARTY agrees to comply with public records laws. More specifically,
each PARTY will:
a. Keep and maintain public records that ordinarily and necessarily would be required
by the PARTY in order to perform the services required by this MAA.
b. Provide the public with access to public records at a cost that does not exceed the
cost provided in Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or as otherwise provided by law.
c. Ensure that public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public
records disclosure requirements are not disclosed except as authorized by law.
d. Meet all requirements for retaining public records and transfer, at no cost, to the
other PARTY.
6. PROSECUTION: The criteria for the decision whether to have any particular case
prosecuted in the State or Federal system will be based on which level of prosecution
and venue would provide the greatest benefit to the overall objectives of the
investigation. In all cases, timely notification will be made to the appropriate prosecuting
authority.
7. SCHEDULE OF WORK HOURS: Work hours may vary to meet operational needs.
8. RELEASE OF INFORMATION TO THE PRESS: At no time will any employee of either
PARTY release to or discuss with any member of the press any aspect of operations or
any aspect of the direction, focus, or general purpose of the investigation without first
consulting with the appropriate supervisor of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
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Subsequent to the consultation, officers acting pursuant to the MAA will discuss any
information release with the affected investigators and/or prosecutors to assure that the
integrity of the investigation will not be jeopardized. In most, if not all access, the release
of any information, no matter how generic, will be made jointly with the participation of
both PARTIES and pursuant to Florida Statutes Chapter 119 and any other applicable
statutes governing the disclosure of public records.
SECTION V. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Agreement shall be in effect from the date of signing, through and including,
January 1, 2025. Under no circumstances may this MAA be renewed, amended, or
extended except in writing.
SECTION VII. CANCELLATION
This Agreement may be cancelled by either PARTY upon thirty (30) days written notice
to the other PARTY. Cancellation will be at the discretion of the chief executive official
of the PARTIES hereto.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed by their
respective and duly authorized officers on the day and year written below.
FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY:
Carlos A. Gimenez Date
Mayor
Alfredo Ramirez III Date
Director
Miami-Dade Police Department
Attest:
Harvey Ruvin, County Clerk Date
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Approved as to form and legal sufficiency:
Anita Viciana Date
Assistant County Attorney
Miami-Dade County, Florida
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FOR THE CITU a; MlAM BEACH!:
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Jim �, L. Mor:1-s Date
City anager
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Richard M. Clements Date 1 •
Chief •
Miami Police Department
Attest: •
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Raf.;el E. Granado Da'e
City Clerk
Approved as to Form and Legal
Sufficiency
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/ Rar'l. Aguila Date
1 = City Attorney
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