ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell said the training sessions with local law enforcement were long overdue.
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After weeks of public disagreement between Worrell and local law enforcement, Worrell’s office hosted two days of training to build better cases.
“It’s unfortunate that the community had a front-row seat to our disagreements, but it’s really because we all come from a place of passion and concern for our community,” she said.
Over the last two days, the training has focused on Orange County, including Orlando Police Department, Apopka Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Read: State Attorney Worrell discusses work to build ‘better cases’ with law enforcement
These did not include agency heads, but Worrell said those discussions would happen soon.
This has been an opportunity for collaboration and a possible olive branch after top law enforcement officials voiced concerns about prosecution in this community.
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“I think there just needs to be more emphasis on less plea deals and more emphasis on incarceration and holding people accountable for the actual crimes they committed,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.
“I believe the system sort of let us down,” Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said. “We’re making arrests of the same people over and over.”
The officers who make the arrests sat down with the state attorney for Friday’s training. The training centered on the different legal thresholds needed to convict an individual, not just make an arrest.
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Worrell said it was important to hear both sides and correct some misconceptions they may have had on specific issues.
The state attorney’s office told law enforcement how understaffed her office is. Worrell said 148 lawyers are handling the cases of over 4,000 law enforcement officers.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said they confirmed multiple staff members were attended the training this week and agreed that this was a productive session.
Worrell said the office already has more scheduled training sessions.
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