Taylor Biro, a former member of the city of Tallahassee’s Citizens Police Review Board, filed a federal civil complaint against the city of Tallahassee with the United States District Court Northern District of Florida on Tuesday.
The lawsuit requests $75,000 from the city of Tallahassee and that the city pay all her legal fees associated with the case.
Read filing here.
The complaint contends that the city of Tallahassee decision to terminate Biro was first amendment retaliation for her abolitionist views of law enforcement.
The complaint states, the “actions against Plaintiff were clearly taken against her based on her speech, i.e., the sticker on her cup and have caused her immeasurable damages.”
In addition, Biro alleges that she was “targeted by a slew of Blue Lives Matter Advocates and was harassed in the local news.”
Before the vote to remove Biro, Commissioner Curtis Richardson indicated that the CPRB needs to have a working relationship law enforcement and that recent actions by the Board has made such a relationship impossible.
“I don’t know how we get there from here”, Richardson added.
In addition, in November of last year, Tallahassee Inspector General Dennis Sutton questioned CPRB member Biro‘s objectivity during a board subcommittee meeting based on an opinion column written by Biro and published in the Tallahassee Democrat.
In the column, Biro wrote, “Don’t ask us to recommend a policy or training to fix this, because policing isn’t broken, it’s performing exactly as it was designed. We cannot remove the eggs from a cake after it comes out of the oven. Sometimes you just need a new recipe.”
Sutton said actions like Biro’s could give a negative impression of the board to Tallahassee Police Department members, decreasing their willingness to work with them. He also said board members were required to say that they would remain unbiased on their application to join the board.
“There is a concern by the rank and file that this board is completely biased against the police department,” Sutton said.
Biro acknowledged in the complaint that a cup she had while on the Citizen Police Review Board carried an “abolish police” sticker during the two years she was a member of the board.
Biro is being represented by Tallahassee attorney Marie A. Mattox.
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Wow.
I’m really upset with Biro for doing this. I have met her personally and this was uncalled for. Her actions and to now sue. If you read this Taylor, you should be ashamed… This is a waste of tax payee dollars too.
Grifters gonna grift. BTW_ I contacted her on linked in.. and she was rude and insulting. Don’t beleive her ‘victim’ grift. She don;t deserve any taxpauers money. You all ought to run her out of Leon County.
Grifters gonna grift. BTW_ I contacted her on linked in.. and she was rude and insulting. Don’t beleive her ‘victim’ grift. She don;t deserve any taxpauers money. You all ought to run her out of Leon County.
I’m a member of an appointed volunteer Civil Service Board. We are the eyes and ears for the majority of citizens. Why would she participate in a board that will NEVER, EVER, IN A MILLION YEARS, disband the police? Seems like she enjoys being a PITA. I’m surprised she was allowed to serve. That’s like being an anti-public school advocate and wanting to join the PTA. Take your time-wasting crusade some place that cares.
Marie Mattox would sue my dog or a house plant if there was a buck in it…….can you say litigious……the LEFT doesn’t like to be pushed on, as they do to conservatives….DO NOT SETTLE OUT OF COURT…..
Reckless moves from the PBA-TPD brass and their 3 establishment Commissioners who went along with this petty crusade against Biro, a citizen volunteer, over questionable facts and a weak-tea attempt to drive a political narrative.
A major overreaction which continues to backfire and exhibits a deep insecurity within the Reese/Chamber insider clique.
Do you expect any less when you appoint people like this? The board’s mission is “To enhance trust between the Tallahassee Police Department and the community by creating an unbiased panel of volunteers”. She freely shared her biased views which erodes the mission (even if that mission is just political whiplash from 2020). This has got to be one of the worst cases I’ve seen in a while. Hopefully it gets tossed out of the gate.
In a civil rights case, the government pays the plaintiff’s attorney fees and costs IF THEY WIN. Ms. Mattox takes all the risk for as long as a case takes to resolve (although such attys sometimes require clients make payments as the case goes along, which then gets refunded later). It is set up that way so that governments with plenty of money and aptitude to pay attorneys to defend cases, rather than solve problems or prevent them in the firstplace do not have insurmountable advantages in such litigation.
Didn’t the former City of Tallahassee Ethics Officer go to work for Marie Maddox?
Typical Slip and Fall Attorney fee: Total Amount of Settlement minus 33 to 43 percent (43 percent if the case went to court) minus 1.5 percent for each month they handled your case minus all associated legal fees (you pay the lawyer for every hour he worked on your case) minus reinbursing your insurance company for what they paid you equals the clients share. BTW the whole process could take years to settle. Ding, ding, ding the winner is the lawyer.
Marie Maddox pursues these cases for the attorney fee comp, they dont give a rip about the 75k, theyll have multiple times that in legal fees. its a scam against the tax payers to salary M Maddox for $650/hr for years. these attorneys are white collar criminals.
And if there was ever a poster child for mental health issues, you are looking at it.
I’d like to know how she was able to obtain Marie Maddox service so quickly. It’s not like Maddox makes it EASY for someone to walk in off the street to consult with her.
I smell ambulance chasing.
She has clearly demonstrated a bias against police. Her removal was appropriate. I think she will lose the case and if so the city should sue her for the costs incurred.
if this WHACK JOB says she’ll use the money for psychological counseling, she just might win a payout.
#AbolishGreenHairDye
Now she’s appealing to the law to come to her rescue. Irony is always lost on leftists…
The capitalization of “Blue Lives Matter Advocates” implies a title. I wasn’t aware that there was such an (assumably non-profit) organization here in TLH/Leon. I am aware that there is a (clearly for-profit) black lives matter operation, since an entire intersection in THL was painted with its logo at taxpayer expense no less.
If anyone can direct me to this Blue Lives Matter organization, I would like the opportunity to donate to their intersection mural fund… you know, in the interest of equality/equity inclusion and all. I’m certain the Mayor and Commission would approve the mural, particularly because it’s in the interest of equality/equity inclusion… and NOT paid for using tax dollars.
Commission member Board “appointments” are just that, appointments; not entitlements. The Commission(ers) reserves the right to appoint, remove, and/or not reappoint members… full stop.
I join Mr. Hawkins in the call to “not settle”. Although the city attorneys will likely push the Commission to settle, the legal reality is Ms. Biro has no standing. Settling would open the floodgates for continuous frivolous lawsuits based on hurt feelings as a result of ones own foolish actions and lust for Twidiot likes.
Fight it… and keep this photo of her ear bling of severed heads of Barbie Dolls and her hate-filled anti-LEO op ed… case dismissed.
@ Edward it would be a hoot to see an abolish Judges mug at the trial.
I notice for this pic she is sans the nose pig ring.
Honestly if she gets lucky and draws Federal Judge and leftist tool Hinkle for the trial her big money 75K dreams stand a better than average chance of coming true. I see the real possability of a few shiney new 14K yellow gold nose pig rings in our princess’ nose in the very near future!
“Champagne wishes and caviar dreams”
Robin Leach’s legendary sign-off each and every show.
So… if I have this right, and I think that I do…
Her argument is that her right to free speech was violated by others who exercised their right to free speech, and that “immeasurable damages” are actually measured at $75K and ambulance chaser fees. I wonder if she’ll show up in court with an “Abolish Judges” sticker on her coffee cup.
Is she wearing decapitated Barbie doll heads for earrings?
PLEASE do NOT settle out of Court.