Florida cops angry over contract buy billboards, warn parents about state capital's murder rate

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — Amid a bitter contract dispute, a Florida police union purchased billboard space spotlighting the crime and murder rate in Tallahassee, warning parents to “think again” before sending their children to town for college.

The Big Bend Police Benevolent Association-sponsored billboards went up at prominent intersections at midnight Wednesday, said President Richard Murphy, who is in the middle of contract mediation negotiations. The PBA is in mediation with Tallahassee city officials pushing for an end to a contract impasse.

The billboards warn people about the crime rate and encourage them to the city manager push for a fair contract.

“Thinking of sending your child to college in Tallahassee? Think again,” the billboards read. “Tallahassee is the 5th most dangerous city in Florida. Murders are the highest they’ve been in years.”

Tallahassee is home to Florida State University and Florida A&M University, as well as Tallahassee Community College. The three schools enroll thousands of students.

The digital billboard plays in succession with advertisements purchased by the city thanking the Tallahassee Police Department and the Tallahassee Fire Department.

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Tallahassee and Leon County saw a record number of murders in 2020 — part of an uptick in violent crime across the country — tallying 28 last year, according to records from the Tallahassee Police Department and the Leon County Sheriff's Office.

“We’re trying to educate the whole community why we should get a fair and competitive contract that can help with recruitment and retention,” Murphy said. “Have we been frustrated in this process by the city? Yes. But we’ve got to get serious about addressing our crime problem.”

The move drew immediate backlash from some who questioned whether the PBA was working against itself.

City Commissioner Curtis Richardson, who along with his colleagues would eventually vote to ratify any contract with the PBA, said he was dismayed by the tactic.

“I’m very disappointed to say the least because that is an indictment on our community, not just the city of Tallahassee government, but our community generally,” he said.

“Extremely poor timing. We’ll continue the negotiating process," he added. "I wish they had taken that into consideration before they decided to do that billboard.”

Leon County Republican Chair Evan Power weighed in on Twitter saying the billboard's message on crime and murders were a "real concern."

Sue Dick, president of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, rejected the billboard's message that Tallahassee was an unsafe place to send kids for college.

“Parents from all over Florida, the country and even internationally trust their children to Tallahassee as a safe community where our trio of outstanding, nationally respected and recognized universities and colleges prepare those young people for the future," she said. "It's wrong for the PBA to engage in this regrettable effort to undermine our city”

The area’s top law enforcement official, State Attorney Jack Campbell, noted the issues raised by the PBA are ones that officers with TPD and other law enforcement agencies in town work toward solving every day.

“To use fear as a negotiating strategy is disappointing to me," Campbell said. "Our law enforcement is better than that. Our community is better than that. That’s not who we are. Of course there are things we work on and candidly TPD and the officers they employ are on the frontline of those issues.”

An impasse was declared last fall. Murphy said TPD officers pay among the highest in the state into their pension, and take-home pay is one of the lowest of law enforcement officers at agencies across the region.

According to city documents, the gross salary range for TPD officers who were PBA members ranged from $143,057 at the high end to $50,298 at the entry level in 2020. A city official added that the average salary for an officer is $79,133.

Follow Karl Etters on Twitter: @KarlEtters.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Police union purchases billboards blasting Florida's capital city