Commissioner Nikki Fried Announces Racial Inclusion & Equality Changes at FDACS

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced a series of policy and procedure changes within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to create a more racially inclusive and equitable state agency. These include the use of force, de-escalation, and excessive force intervention by the department’s law enforcement office, updated discrimination complaint procedures, and other changes.

“Like so many, I watched in horror at the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and too many other Black Americans. As a former public defender, I share the deep frustration of the Black community at the senseless, continued murder of Black people, and the failure of leaders in positions of power to make impactful changes,” said Commissioner Fried. “These improvements to our department’s policies are our first step on the road towards greater inclusion and equity in service to people of color and all our fellow Floridians.”

“Members of the Black Caucus have worked for decades to build equity in our state and our government,” said State Senator Bobby Powell, Chair of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus. “We appreciate that Commissioner Fried, as an elected Cabinet member, is acknowledging this fight, making it a priority, and taking action to make an impact. Commissioner Fried has shown a strong commitment to increasing diversity, inclusion, and equity within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since taking office, and we stand united with her towards progress.”

In May 2020, Commissioner Fried created a Diversity and Inclusion Work Group within FDACS, a twelve-member committee of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. The Work Group reviewed existing department policies and developed recommendations to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity within the department. The changes announced today to certain department Administrative Policies and Procedures (AP&Ps), based on those recommendations, include:

Core Values: Addition of “inclusion” to the department’s core values, which also include professionalism, commitment, integrity, innovation, and excellence.

Law Enforcement Policies: Updates to our Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement’s Policy 2-01 on Use of Force to include the following:

• Established that the lateral vascular neck restraint (LVNR) is not an approved or authorized technique for use with aggressive, physically resisting subjects
• Officers shall use de-escalation tactics to reduce the need for use of force
• Any officer or department member who observes any excessive use of force is required to immediately intervene and report these acts

Updates Discrimination Protections: Adds gender identity as a protected class for OPS employees (AP&P 5-12), and now allows for third-party witnesses to file discrimination complaints (AP&P 5-21), increasing accountability within the department.

Social Media: Addition of new guidelines (AP&P 8-15) for acceptable social media usage for FDACS employees, further establishing that racist, discriminatory, or otherwise unacceptable content will not be tolerated.

Contract Language: Finally, the review of FDACS contractual leases for discriminatory language, to ensure contractual documents properly reflect department values.

Since taking office in 2019, Commissioner Fried has worked to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in Florida. This includes adding landmark LGBTQ protections within her first week in office, appointing both an LGBTQ Consumer Advocate and a Director of Diversity and Inclusion, appointing a record number of women to department leadership, and launching a $1 million grant program to assist, among others, consumers of color who face three times higher household energy financial burdens.

###