Documenting what they left out — bringing accountability to light.
A civilian oversight project for Okaloosa County. We document public police activity, publish what we find, and make sure residents know their rights — clearly, and backed by facts.
Numbers appear once real activity is logged — see STATS in the script. Shows "—" instead of "0" until then, so an early-stage site doesn't read as inactive.
The transparency dashboard.
A running public record of observation activity. This is a template — connect it to your real incident log so every bar and row reflects verified entries.
Incidents documented, by month
Recent log entries
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How our Sheriff's Department scores.
Independent data from Police Scorecard, an independent 501(c)(3) research project — not our own reporting. Figures reflect their most recently published data (2013–2025 reporting periods, pulled July 2026); check the source directly for the latest.
Section scores
Overall average across all four sections: 43% — ranked 23rd of 66 Florida sheriff's departments evaluated.
Killings by police, 2013–2025. A Black person was 2.6x, and a Latinx person 6.2x, as likely to be killed by police here as a white person, based on population.
Civilian misconduct complaints (2021), with 39% ultimately ruled in favor of the civilian.
Of all 70,982 arrests from 2013–2025 were for low-level, non-violent offenses.
Police Funding
- Annual budget$54.48M
- Cost per resident$382/yr
- Officers per 10k residents22.4
- Total sworn officers319
Higher per-capita funding than roughly 64% of departments, and more officers per capita than roughly 81%.
Police Violence
- Killings by police (2013–25)7
- Rate per 10k arrests0.7
- Victims not alleged to have a gun14%
- Black residents' relative risk of being killed2.6×
A higher killings-per-arrest rate than roughly 81% of departments, and racial disparities in deadly force greater than roughly 79% of departments nationally.
Police Accountability
- Total civilian complaints (2021)28
- Use-of-force complaints4
- Discrimination complaints1
- Alleged criminal misconduct1
39% of all complaints were ultimately ruled in favor of the civilian; 0% of use-of-force, discrimination, or criminal misconduct complaints specifically were.
Approach to Law Enforcement
- Total arrests (2013–25)70,982
- Low-level offense arrests55,561
- Avg. daily jail population816
- In jail without a conviction48%
A higher low-level-offense arrest rate than roughly 98% of departments. Nearly half of everyone in the county jail on a given day has not been convicted of anything.
How Okaloosa compares to its neighbors
- Walton County42%
- Okaloosa County43%
- Escambia County46%
- Santa Rosa County46%
All four Northwest Florida counties score below the statewide leader, Clay County, at 59%.
Full methodology, sourcing, and live figures: policescorecard.org
Okaloosa County, in the news.
Pulled live from Google News, filtered to Okaloosa County law-enforcement coverage. This is third-party reporting, not our own reporting — always click through to the original source.
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Primary source: GNews API (needs a free key — see below). Automatically falls back to Google News RSS if no key is set or GNews's daily quota is hit.
Know your rights.
Current Florida law as of 2026 — general information, not legal advice. See Legal & Disclosures below for how to reach a real attorney.
Right to record police in public
The First Amendment protects recording officers performing duties in public, subject to reasonable time/place/manner limits. The 11th Circuit (covers Florida) has upheld this repeatedly.
Florida's "two-party consent" exception
Florida requires all-party consent for private conversations — but on-duty officers conducting public business have no expectation of privacy, so recording them isn't a wiretapping violation.
The 25-foot "Halo Law"
After a verbal warning, you must not remain within 25 feet of a first responder if intending to interfere. It doesn't ban recording — only requires repositioning if warned.
Flyering & distribution zones
Public sidewalks and parks are protected space for advocacy flyers. Private property, including HOA/condo common areas, requires permission — HOAs are not state actors in Florida.
Quick reference — if you're observing an incident
- Stay on public property — sidewalks, streets, and public building exteriors are your strongest ground.
- Record video first — it sidesteps the audio-consent question entirely.
- Don't physically block or interfere with officer duties — observe from a reasonable distance.
- If warned to step back, comply immediately — reposition, keep recording, stay calm.
- Log it afterward — date, time, location, unit/badge numbers if visible, footage link.
Get involved.
No experience required. Every new volunteer is trained on the legal protocols above before their first observation shift.
Join scheduled or on-call shifts at public locations.
Review footage and maintain the public incident log.
Distribute flyers on public property, table events, run the newsletter.
Attorneys or law students advising on a volunteer basis.
Sign up or report an incident
Opens your email client — nothing is stored on this site.
Share your story.
Had an experience with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office you think the community should know about? Tell us. Submissions are reviewed privately before anything is ever published — nothing goes public without your knowledge.
Submit your story
You can submit anonymously. We review every submission privately before considering it for publication — nothing is posted automatically.
Published community stories
No stories published yet. Check back soon.
Fund the work.
Where your donation goes
Recording equipment, printing, outreach, and legal resources for the volunteer network. Every dollar is logged.
Required disclosures
Okaloosa Copwatch is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by any government agency, including the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
Where funds actually go.
The same transparency we ask of local government, we hold ourselves to. Every category below is a legitimate, documented use of donations — nothing here covers personal expenses.
What donations fund
Cameras, memory cards, storage, body-worn cameras for volunteers.
Attorney consultations, public records request fees, filing fees.
Flyers, printing, website hosting, social outreach.
Mileage reimbursement, safety gear, training materials.
General liability and media liability coverage.
LLC annual report, bookkeeping, basic operating costs.
Spending log
- No expenses logged yet. This list will populate as donations are spent — see SPENDING_LOG in the script.
Legal & disclosures.
Not legal advice
Information here reflects publicly available Florida law as of 2026. It is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your situation.
Not affiliated with any agency
Okaloosa Copwatch is an independent, volunteer-run effort. We are not part of, funded by, or endorsed by any law enforcement or government agency.
Donations
Contributions fund equipment, printing, outreach, and legal resources. They are not tax-deductible, and are kept in a dedicated account.
Where to go for real legal help
ACLU of Florida
aclufl.org
National Police Accountability Project
nlg-npap.org
Florida Bar Lawyer Referral
(800) 342-8060