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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibit AEXHIBIT(S) VOLUNTARY COOPERATION MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTICIPATING AGENCIES AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT TO FORM A MIAMI REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER CHILD ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM WHEREAS, the below subscribed law enforcement agencies have joined together in a multi - jurisdictional effort to rescue abducted children and under appropriate circumstances allocate their resources to missing/endangered children cases; and WHEREAS, the undersigned agencies are all participants in a multi -agency effort known collectively as the Child Abduction Response Team (CART); and WHEREAS, the undersigned agencies agree to utilize applicable state and federal laws to prosecute criminal, civil, and forfeiture actions against identified violators, as appropriate; and WHEREAS, the undersigned agencies have the authority under Part 1, Chapter 23, Florida Statutes, "the Florida Mutual Aid Act," to enter into a voluntary agreement for cooperation and assistance of a routine law enforcement nature that crosses jurisdictional lines; and WHEREAS, the subscribing law enforcement agencies are so located in relation to each other that it is to the advantage of each to receive and extend mutual aid in the form of law enforcement services and resources to adequately respond to continuing, multi -jurisdictional criminal activity, so as to protect the public peace and safety, and preserve the lives and property of the citizens; and WHEREAS, this agreement does not supersede or take the place of any other agreement entered into by the various members of the Child Abduction Response Team. Those agreements shall remain in full effect. NOW THEREFORE, the Parties agree as follows: As acknowledged by their execution of this Agreement, each of the undersigned law enforcement agencies approve, authorize and enter into this Agreement at the request of the member agencies of the Child Abduction Response Team (CART) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), subject to the terms and conditions noted herein, for the purposes and goals indicated. Additional Parties may, at the request and with the approval of FDLE and the other CART members, enter into this Agreement at a later date as evidenced by their signing of this Agreement. Any Party may cancel its participation in this Agreement upon delivery of written notice of cancellation to FDLE. CART GOALS AND COOPERATION TO BE RENDERED: The goal of the CART is to provide a pool of specialized investigators to focus dedicated and intensive investigative, preventative, and general law enforcement efforts primarily with regard to abducted children. To provide for voluntary cooperation, each of the CART agencies hereby approve and enter into this agreement whereby each of the agencies may request and render law Page 1 of 6 enforcement assistance to the other in dealing with any violations of Florida Statutes including, but not limited to, the arrest and criminal prosecution of those involved in child kidnapping, abduction, false imprisonment and similar or related crimes (utilizing state and federal prosecutions, as appropriate); the rescue of the abducted child or children and the seizure and forfeiture of assets of those engaged in child abduction or otherwise supporting such activity (utilizing state and federal forfeiture options, as appropriate). Nothing herein shall otherwise limit the ability of participating CART members to provide, as provided by or allowed by law, such assistance in any enforcement action as may be lawfully requested by a law enforcement officer having jurisdiction over an incident, crime or matter under consideration. The Parties to this Agreement are contributing personnel and resources in support of the CART efforts, with the operations of the CART being coordinated with FDLE and other agency members. JURISDICTION, PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING ASSISTANCE, COMMAND AND SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: The principal sites of CART activity shall be the following counties: Palm Beach, Broward, Miami - Dade, and Monroe. When engaged in CART operations that have been approved by FDLE, as contemplated by this Agreement, CART members that do not otherwise have jurisdictional authority shall enjoy full jurisdictional authority anywhere in the State of Florida, although principally focused within the principal sites of CART activity listed herein, with full power to enforce Florida laws and avail themselves of the provisions of this Agreement. Officers assigned to CART operations pursuant to this agreement shall be empowered to render enforcement assistance and take law enforcement action in accordance with the law and the terms of this Agreement. Execution of this agreement and continued participation by FDLE and one or more CART member agencies shall constitute a general reciprocal, continuing request for and granting of assistance between the members of the Team that shall be considered authorized in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. No additional or specific formal request for assistance is required. CART members operating outside the jurisdiction of their respective Agencies shall not enjoy extra - jurisdictional authority as law enforcement officers unless engaged in approved CART activities as stated herein. Pursuant to Section 23.127(1), Florida Statues, employees and agents of the undersigned Agencies participating in the CART, when engaging in authorized mutual cooperation and assistance pursuant to this Agreement, have the same powers, duties, rights, privileges and immunities as if the employees were performing duties inside the political subdivision in which the employee is normally employed. Activities shall be considered authorized only when approved and directed as provided herein by an FDLE supervisor or command designee. The CART will normally function as a force multiplier for the requesting agency, and the requesting agency will remain as the lead agency in overall control of the investigation, unless the requesting agency has formally asked that the CART, under FDLE supervision or other FDLE approved supervision, assume control of the investigation. The Parties stipulate that in the event that a significant investigative or jurisdictional dispute should arise, the issue will immediately be forwarded to the relevant agency chief executives for resolution. If at any time an FDLE supervisor or FDLE Special Agent designee(s) determines that an extra -territorial CART operation pursuant to this agreement should be terminated, said Page 2 of 6 operation is to be promptly terminated in a manner assuring the safety of all involved law enforcement officers. No CART employee or agent shall engage in activities outside the jurisdictional territory of the CART pursuant to the authority of this Agreement that are not approved, are unreported or otherwise unknown to the FDLE supervisor and which are not documented as provided herein. FDLE supervisor(s) shall maintain documentation that will demonstrate the daily involvement of specific employees or agents provided by the Parties to this Agreement, including each operation's supervisor or designated leader. Such documentation will assist in memorializing which individuals had mutual aid authority pursuant to this Agreement for particular time periods. After consultation with other participating CART agencies, FDLE may request that a particular employee or agent of the CART no longer be allowed to participate in furtherance of this Agreement. Upon receiving the request, the employing Agency shall promptly terminate said person's participation in the activities contemplated by this provision of the Agreement. Upon the request of a participating agency that a sworn or support member of FDLE no longer participate in the CART, FDLE shall, if otherwise in FDLE's best interest to do so, terminate said member's participation in the CART. With the approval of FDLE, a Party to this Agreement may otherwise add, substitute, reinstate, or replace any of its sworn or support employees participating in the CART. Whenever an operation occurs outside the territorial limits of the principal sites of CART activity as set forth herein, the Chief of Investigations for the FDLE office in the region affected shall be notified about the presence of CART personnel in his or her region. Local law enforcement in the area of operation will be notified, as appropriate. Nothing herein shall otherwise limit the jurisdiction and powers normally possessed by an employee as a member of the employee's Agency. FORFEITURE ACTIONS ARISING FROM THIS AGREEMENT: Forfeiture actions based upon seizures made by the CART may be pursued in either state or federal court. Actions shall be based upon current statutory and case law. Distribution of the proceeds shall be shared equally among the participating agencies, or as otherwise specified by written agreement. PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE: All property and evidence, including currency, seized within Florida but outside the primary jurisdictional area for CART operations, in connection with state violations and pursuant to this Agreement, shall be taken into custody, processed and documented by an FDLE Special Agent in accordance with FDLE policy relating to the handling of property, evidence and currency. When such items are seized within the primary jurisdictional area for CART operations, in connection with state violations and pursuant to this Agreement, the items may be taken into custody, processed, documented and maintained by the lead agency, the agency with primary jurisdiction or as otherwise agreed upon. Page 3 of 6 In the event an investigation becomes a federal case or inquiry, any such property and evidence will be transferred into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or handled in accordance with their direction. LIABILITY AND COST -RELATED ISSUES: Each Party engaging in any mutual cooperation and assistance pursuant to this Agreement agrees to assume its own liability and responsibility for the acts, omissions, or conduct of such Party's own employees while such employees are engaged in rendering such aid, cooperation and assistance pursuant to this Agreement. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of any sovereign immunity to which any Party is entitled statutorily under Section 768.28, Florida Statutes, or based on common law or case law. Each Party shall remain responsible for the compensation, retirement, workers compensation and other benefits accruing to the benefit of their participating employees. Each Party to this Agreement agrees to furnish necessary personnel, property, police equipment, vehicles, resources and facilities to render services to each other Party to this Agreement in order to effect the purposes of the CART and agrees to bear the cost of loss or damage to such equipment, vehicles, or property. Parties understand and agree that they will be responsible for their own liability and bear their own costs with regard to their property and resources, or personnel expenses incurred by reason of death, injury or incidents giving rise to liability. This provision shall not preclude necessary property or resources being purchased, funded, or provided by a participating Party via the Party's legally vested forfeiture funds, if otherwise authorized by law. Each Agency furnishing aid pursuant to this Agreement shall compensate its own employees during the time such aid is rendered and shall defray the actual expenses of its employees while they are rendering such aid, including any amounts, if legally applicable, that may be determined to be payable for compensation due to personal injury or death while such employees are engaged in rendering such aid. The privileges and immunities from liability, exemption from laws, ordinances, and rules, and all pension, insurance, relief, disability, workers' compensation, salary (including overtime compensation or compensatory time), death and other benefits that apply to the activity of an employee of an Agency when performing the employee's duties within the territorial limits of the employee's Agency shall apply to the employee to the same degree, manner, and extent while such employee acts under this Agreement. This provision shall not preclude payment of compensation, including overtime compensation, for its personnel utilizing its legally vested forfeiture funds to the extent allowed by law. Each Party agrees to maintain its own comprehensive general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, and automotive liability insurance or maintain a self -insuring fund for the term of this Agreement in the amounts determined by each Party to adequately insure such Party's liability assumed herein. But, for Florida law enforcement officers, in no event shall such coverage be less than the statutory waiver of sovereign immunity limits. Each Party agrees to provide the other Parties with a copy of the respective insurance or self-insurance required hereunder, including the endorsements thereto and renewals thereto. In the event a Party maintains a self- insurance fund, such Party agrees to provide the other Parties with documentation to substantiate the existence and maintenance of such self-insurance fund. The Parties agree that federal participants will be governed by applicable federal laws concerning the above liability issues. Page 4 of 6 COMPLAINTS AGAINST CHILD ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM MEMBERS: Whenever a complaint has been lodged as a result of CART efforts outside their jurisdictional boundaries pursuant to this Agreement, a designee of FDLE shall ascertain at a minimum: The identity(ies) of the complainant(s) and an address where the complainants) may be contacted, the nature of the complaint, any supporting evidence or facts as may be available, including the names and addresses of witnesses to that which has been complained about, the identity(ies) of the CART participant(s) accused and the employing Agency(ies) of the participant(s) accused. FDLE will promptly provide to each affected employing Agency the above information for administrative review and appropriate handling or disposition. Each affected employing Agency shall, upon completion of said review, notify FDLE of its findings and any actions taken. The Parties agree that federal agency participants will handle any complaints against their personnel while such federal personnel are involved in CART operations. OBLIGATION TO COORDINATE WITH PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: The principal goal of the Child Abduction Response Team is the rescue of abducted children and the arrest of criminal perpetrators. An equally important goal is the successful prosecution of perpetrators. The latter requires close coordination with prosecuting authorities, both in the state and federal courts. Members of the CART are obligated to coordinate their efforts in such a way as to support the efficient prosecution of cases, including, but not limited to, prompt responses to requests from prosecutors for information or assistance in handling CART generated cases and reasonable availability for pretrial conferences with prosecutors, discovery depositions, pretrial hearings and trials. Civil or administrative actions derived from CART operations are likewise to receive coordinated support efforts from CART members. CART supervisors shall monitor the efforts of CART members in support of criminal prosecutions, civil actions, administrative actions and forfeiture cases. Such monitoring shall include regular contact with assigned prosecutors or attorneys pursuing actions on behalf of the CART to assure the expected level of support from CART members is occurring. Failure by a member of the CART to support such efforts on a routine and regular basis in the manner set forth herein shall constitute grounds for removal of the member from this Agreement. COPY TO EACH PARTICIPATING CART MEMBER AGENCY: When this Agreement is fully executed, a copy shall be provided to each CART member so that each member may be fully aware of the powers, limitations, and expectations applicable to CART members and operations. Page 5 of 6 TERM OF AGREEMENT: This Agreement shall be effective as to the executing Parties upon execution by the member agencies of the CART and FDLE. As each additional Party executes this Agreement, it shall be effective as to the newly executing Party. This Agreement may be duplicated for dissemination to all Parties, and such duplicates shall be of the same force and effect as the original. Execution of this Agreement may be signified by properly signing and dating a separate signature page. The original agreement and all signature pages shall be maintained by the FDLE Office of General Counsel. A copy of this agreement will also be maintained by the Special Agent in Charge for the CART region of operation. This Agreement shall remain in full force as to all participating Parties until December 31, 2025, unless terminated in writing by FDLE as to all or separate Parties. This agreement may be renewed, amended, or extended only in writing. Any Party may withdraw from this Agreement upon providing written notice to FDLE and all other participating Parties. Any written cancellation or extension shall be maintained with the original agreement and a copy forwarded to FDLE Mutual Aid office. PARTY'S ACCEPTANCE OF THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, VOLUNTARY COOPERATION MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MEMBER AGENCIES OF THE MIAMI REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM. Pursuant to Section 23.1225(3), F.S., this agreement may be entered into by a chief executive officer of the agency who is authorized to contractually bind the agency. By signing below, an indication of such authorization is being made. Any signatory may attach to this signature page any further evidence of authorization you wish to remain on file at FDLE along with this signature page. For the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE): J. M k GI s, Commissioner Florda D partment of Law Enforcement Legal Review b`�" y ' �- (attorney initials) PARTY'S ACCEPTANCE OF THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, VOLUNTARY COOPERATION MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MEMBER AGENCIES OF THE MIAMI REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER CHILD ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM. Pursuant to Section 23.1225(3), F.S., this agreement may be entered into by a chief executive officer of the agency who is authorized to contractually bind the agency. By signing below, an indication of such authorization is being made. Any signatory may add or attach to this signature page any further evidence of authorization you wish to remain on file at FDLE along with this signature page. For the City of Miami Police Department Manuel A. Morales Chief of Police C � d-) Lat, Date of Execution PARTY'S ACCEPTANCE OF THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, VOLUNTARY COOPERATION MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MEMBER AGENCIES OF THE MIAMI REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER CHILD ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM. Pursuant to Section 23.1225(3), F.S., this agreement may be entered into by a chief executive officer of the agency who is authorized to contractually bind the agency. By signing below, an indication of such authorization is being made. Any signatory may add or attach to this signature page any further evidence of authorization you wish to remain on file at FDLE along with this signature page. For the County Sheriff's Office Name Of Sheriff County Sheriff Date of Execution Florida Department of Law Enforcement Voluntary Cooperation Mutual Aid Agreement Between the Participating Agencies and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to Form a Miami Regional Operations Center Child Abduction Response Team CITY OF MIAMI, a Florida Municipal Corporation Arthur Noriega V, City Manager Attest: Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk Approved as to Form and Correctness: Victoria Mendez, City Attorney Approved as to Insurance Requirements: 211A Ann -Marie Sharpe, Director of Risk Management Date: Date: Date: Date: