Two police review groups to discuss TPD's recent training with ex-Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher
Days after news broke of Tallahassee Police Department officers training with ex-Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who was once found guilty of illegally posing for a photo with a dead body, local police review boards have announced they will evaluate the department's policies.
“After learning of TPD TAC Team’s recent training that was conducted by Stronghold SOF Solutions and included former Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, (Citizens Police Review Board) will discuss best practices for reviewing TPD’s Training Policies," wrote the board chairman Edward Gaines, Jr., in a prepared statement Thursday.
He added that he spoke with TPD Chief Lawrence Revell "in great length" Wednesday and that the chief "supported the Board reviewing its policies – if that’s what the Board decides to do," Gaines wrote.
Revell and TPD have declined to answer questions from the Tallahassee Democrat about the training. In a prepared statement, a department spokesperson said Gallagher observed and provided "input" about the training as an "observer."
"The Tallahassee Police Department does not have a relationship with him and the company was not hired or compensated by TPD," the statement read.
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The nine‐member volunteer board of citizens, five of whom are appointed by each member of the city commission, will "discuss how it plans to move forward" at a Sept. 1 meeting at 5:30PM at the Smith-Williams Center, 2295 Pasco St.
"The purpose of the CPRB is to foster transparency, enhance communication, and ensure a relationship of trust and respect between (TPD) and the community by creating an unbiased panel of citizens to review completed (TPD) internal affairs reports, cases, and issues relating to law enforcement that are of importance or of interest to the community," according to its chairman.
The TPD Citizens Advisory Council will also discuss the training at its Aug. 30 meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Walker-Ford Community Center, 2301 Pasco St., according to its Chairman Rudy Ferguson, who is running for an at-large Leon County commission seat.
Created in 2020, the CAC, made up of 26 residents from Tallahassee, seeks to "expand transparency and strengthen community bonds between residents and officers," according to its website.
In a radio interview Thursday, City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow said the training, as well as the Rook armored vehicle, which TPD bought in 2020 for $325,000, may contribute to a perception of militarization within the police department.
"These things send a signal whether you think its fair or not; there's a perception in the community that absorbs that," he said. "We have to put our best foot forward as a city government and a police department to show that we are a community-based organization."
Contact Christopher Cann at ccann@tallahassee.com and follow @ChrisCannFL on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Police boards to discuss ex-Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher training
