CALLS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT CAN BE RECORDED WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT

Law enforcement officers performing their official duties can be secretly recorded because they have no expectation of privacy in a recent ruling by a Florida appeals court.

This ruling effectively opened up a loophole in the state's long-standing law against recording telephone conversations without the permission of both sides of the call.

Stemming from a dispute with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office dating back to 2018, the case involved Michael Leroy Waite of Floral City.

In its ruling, the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach threw out five felony wiretapping convictions and deemed that the recording was legal as it involved public business.  The ruling also enhances civilian oversight of law enforcement but contracts recent legislative moves by Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office has been engaged in a lengthy dispute over access to Waite's property since 2018. The situation escalated after wildlife officers — accompanied by deputies holding rifles — sprayed herbicides in a canal off the Withlacoochee River along Waite’s property in west-central Florida.

In January 2021, Waite called 911 to report what he believed was a trespassing incident by the sheriff and said he wanted to have the call recorded for a complaint against the sheriff. That same day, Sgt. Edward Blair called Waite back — and Waite recorded the three-minute phone conversation but did not inform Blair he was doing so, the court said.

Waite emailed his recording of the call to the sheriff’s office records department and requested an internal investigation. A month later, Waite was accused of five counts of illegal wiretapping for recording the conversation with the sergeant and four other calls with sheriff’s employees.

Waite’s case underscores the public’s ability to hold police accountable. However, it didn’t address potential misconduct by the sheriff’s office. Waite hopes his case promotes accountability and prevents officer misconduct.

The appeals court overturned the trial judge’s decision and ordered the judge to dismiss the wiretapping charges.

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