Update: Honor Killing of Fatimah Abdallah

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi received your email expressing your concerns about the local investigation into the death of Fatimah Abdallah.

Attorney General Pam Bondi asked that I respond.

This office appreciates hearing from you, and we will keep your comments under advisement. However, in regard to a criminal investigation, section 16.01(3), Florida Statutes, sets forth the powers and duties of our office.

Further information about the Attorney General's Office is online at:

http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/4492d797dc0bd92f85256cb80055fb97/dd177569f8fb0f1a85256cc6007b70ad!OpenDocument

In Florida the local police or sheriff and the elected state attorney in each of the twenty judicial circuits investigate and prosecute crime at the local level. Those offices operate independently and are not a part of the Attorney General's Office. The investigative and prosecution decisions of a local police agency and elected state attorney are not subject to the authority of this office. Please address concerns about a criminal investigation in the Tampa area to the following:

Tampa Police Department
3818 West Tampa Bay Boulevard
Tampa, Florida 33614
Phone: (813) 354-6600
Website: http://www.tampagov.net/dept_police/contact_us/

The Honorable Mark Ober
State Attorney, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
800 East Kennedy Boulevard
Tampa, Florida 33602
Telephone: (813) 272-5400
Website: http://www.sao13th.com/

We understand that you are requesting an investigation of "the Tampa Police Department and Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's office." If you are
requesting an outside investigation of local officials, you may wish to contact the Governor's Office. The Governor has the power to appoint what is known as a special prosecutor to investigate criminal allegations outside a state attorney's normal circuit when there are concerns about possible conflicts of interest. The Governor may also direct the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to perform special investigations and investigations on public officials and agencies. Please see the FDLE website for more information on in that regard:

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/53610fa0-2560-4969-ab64-9c36afe42c69/Frequently-Asked-Questions.aspx

The contact information for the Governor's Office is:

The Honorable Rick Scott
Executive Office of the Governor
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001
Citizen Services Hotline: (850) 488-4441
Executive Office of the Governor Switchboard: (850) 488-7146
Fax: (850) 487-0801
Website: http://www.flgov.com/

Again, thank you for contacting the Attorney General's Office.

Sincerely,

Office of Citizen Services
Florida Attorney General's Office
PL-01, The Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050