How do I file a complaint against a police officer in Florida?

What should I do right after a bad police encounter?

The first hours matter most, because details fade and evidence gets lost.

• Write it all down now: the date, time and exact location, what was said, and the officers' names, badge numbers, patrol car numbers and agency.
• Save your video and photos: back them up somewhere other than your phone. Florida's wiretap law treats phone calls and face-to-face talk differently. Recording a phone call generally requires everyone's consent. For face-to-face talk, the law covers only conversations where people expect privacy, and in 2024 a Florida appeals court held that on-duty deputies discussing official business had no such expectation (Waite v. State). In that case, recorded calls with deputies were charged as face-to-face talk, and one judge wrote that they should have been treated as phone calls. Since January 1, 2025, Florida law makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly approach or stay within 25 feet of an officer who is lawfully doing their job, after the officer verbally warns you to stay back, if you mean to impede or interfere with the officer, threaten them with physical harm, or harass them (Florida Statutes 843.31).
• Get witnesses: names, phone numbers and what each person saw.
• Document injuries: photograph them over several days, get medical care, and keep every record and bill.
• Keep your paperwork: any citation, property receipt, report number or business card an officer gave you.

Justice Sentinel lets you record these details as soon as possible after the encounter, so your notes, times and evidence are already in one place when you file.

Where do I file a complaint against a Florida police officer?

1. The officer's own agency

Every Florida law enforcement and correctional agency must set up and run a system for receiving and investigating complaints (Florida Statutes 112.533). Look on the agency's website for "internal affairs" or "professional standards," or ask at a station. If you send your complaint to a city or county office instead, it must forward it to the officer's agency within five business days.

A few of the larger agencies:

• Jacksonville Sheriff's Office: Internal Affairs takes complaints online, by phone, by mail or in person.
• Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office: Internal Affairs takes complaints by phone, by email, or in person at its office or any district station.
• Orlando Police: Internal Affairs takes complaints online, by email, by phone or by mail. A paper form must be notarized, and the department notarizes it for free.

2. Civilian oversight boards are limited

A 2024 law (HB 601) bars cities and counties from adopting ordinances on civilian oversight of police misconduct investigations. A sheriff or police chief may set up a civilian board of three to seven members, one of them a retired officer, to review policies and procedures. Several city boards, including Miami's, were dissolved after the law took effect.

3. FDLE's Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission

The Commission certifies Florida officers and can discipline them, up to revoking their certification. A citizen complaint can start its review if it is signed, verifiable, contains specific allegations against the officer, and includes your name and return address. Excessive use of force and misuse of an officer's position can lead to suspension or revocation. An officer who pleads guilty or no contest to a felony, or is found guilty of one, loses their certification, even if the court withholds adjudication. Felony conduct that does not end in a conviction or plea can lead to penalties ranging from suspension to revocation. If an agency's investigation sustains an allegation that breaks the state's standards for officers, such as the good moral character rules, the agency must send the case file to the Commission within 45 days. Findings that only break the agency's own policies stay on file at the agency.

• How the Commission opens a case: what a citizen complaint must include.

4. The State Attorney, if a crime was committed

The Florida Attorney General's office tells people to take a complaint about a city officer to the agency's internal affairs or the chief, and about a deputy to internal affairs or the sheriff. It says it cannot represent private citizens, and that concerns about illegal conduct by local officials go to the State Attorney for your region.

What happens after I file a police complaint?

• 180-day limit: the agency generally must finish its investigation within 180 days of learning of the complaint, or it cannot discipline the officer. The clock pauses in some cases, such as a pending criminal case (Florida Statutes 112.532(6)).
• Your name is shared: before the officer is questioned, the officer must be told the names of all complainants (Florida Statutes 112.532(1)(d)).
• The file opens later: the complaint and investigation stay confidential while the investigation is active, then become public records (Florida Statutes 112.533 and 119.071).

Can an officer sue me for a false complaint in Florida?

Florida law lets an officer sue someone for filing a complaint the person knew was false when they filed it (Florida Statutes 112.532(3)). A complaint you honestly believed was true when you filed it does not meet that test, even if the agency does not sustain it. Stick to what you saw and heard, and say when you are unsure.

Is there a deadline to file a police complaint in Florida?

The statutes covered here set no deadline for the complaint itself. Once the agency learns of a complaint, it generally must finish its investigation within 180 days if it wants to discipline the officer (Florida Statutes 112.532(6)). If you face criminal charges from the encounter, consider talking to your defense lawyer before you file.

The deadlines for money damages:

• Written claim: present a written claim to the agency within three years after the claim arises. Unless the claim is against a city, a county or the Florida Space Authority, it must also go to the Department of Financial Services. If there is no final answer in six months, the claim counts as denied (Florida Statutes 768.28(6)).
• Lawsuit: within four years after the claim arises (Florida Statutes 768.28(14)). Damages against a government agency are capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident.
• Wrongful death: shorter rules apply. The claim must go to the Department of Financial Services within two years, it counts as denied after 90 days without a final answer, and the lawsuit deadline comes from Florida Statutes 95.11 instead of the four-year rule, with the time the claim is under review not counted (Florida Statutes 768.28(6) and (14)).

Federal civil rights lawsuits follow different rules. A lawyer can tell you which deadlines apply to you.

How do I get police reports, records and body camera video?

Ask under Florida's public records law, Chapter 119. People often call it a FOIA request, but for Florida agencies it is a public records request.

• Response time: there is no fixed number of days. The custodian must acknowledge your request promptly and respond in good faith. Copies cost up to 15 cents a page, plus a special service charge for extensive work (Florida Statutes 119.07).
• Closed complaint files: once the investigation is no longer active, the complaint file is a public record (Florida Statutes 119.071(2)(k)).
• Body camera video: video recorded inside a home, a health care or social services facility, or another place a reasonable person would expect to be private is confidential, but it must still be released to the person recorded, for the parts that show them. Agencies must keep recordings for at least 90 days (Florida Statutes 119.071(2)(l)).

Justice Sentinel can generate a records request letter asking for the incident and arrest reports, body and dash camera video, dispatch logs and use-of-force reports from your incident.

When should I talk to a lawyer?

Talk to a lawyer soon if you were injured, arrested or charged, had property taken or damaged, or lost a family member, or if you think you may want money damages. Evidence and witnesses are easiest to find early, even though Florida's claim deadline is longer than in many states. If you face criminal charges from the encounter, consider talking to your defense lawyer before you file a complaint, because what you write could come up in your case. Legal aid offices, lawyer referral services and civil rights organizations can help you find one.

How does Justice Sentinel help you file a police complaint?

Justice Sentinel is a civil rights app that helps people document police encounters and turn what happened into a formal misconduct complaint, a public records request or a court declaration signed under penalty of perjury. You can start a draft for free; the filing-ready PDF, delivery and declaration review are paid options.

• Document the encounter: answer guided questions about what happened, and the app organizes your account, times, people and evidence.
• Misconduct complaint: a formal complaint about an officer or department, written in clear, official language, that puts your account on the record with the agency, oversight bodies or investigators.
• Public records request: a request for the incident and arrest reports, dispatch logs, use-of-force reports and messages about your incident, and body and dash camera video in states where it is a public record.
• Court declaration: a written statement of the facts that you sign under penalty of perjury. Our team reviews it for completeness and formatting and returns it to you, as a paid option. Courts have their own rules for declarations, so check them, or give it to your attorney, before you file it.
• File it yourself or have it sent: start free with a draft, then choose a paid option: download a filing-ready PDF and send it yourself, or have your complaint and records request delivered for you to the agency you choose, with tracking.
• Proof of delivery: when the agency's mail server confirms it received a complaint or records request we sent for you, you get a Certificate of Service recording when, where and what was sent, which your attorney can use as proof of delivery.
• Agency directory: look up thousands of US law enforcement agencies and start a complaint against the right one.
• Encrypted attorney messaging: if your attorney also uses Justice Sentinel, messages between the two of you in its end-to-end encrypted channel are sealed in your browser before they are sent, so Justice Sentinel can't read them.