Montford bill alleges “forcing” in Champion’s hazing even though detectives say drum major “willingly participated”

Yesterday, state Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, filed a claims bill (SB 62) that asked the Florida Legislature to pay for the death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion, Jr.. Montford did not state a dollar figure. But Champion’s parents rejected FAMU’s offer of $300,000 in 2012. That was the most the university could pay under the state’s sovereign immunity law.

The text of Montford’s bill reads like it came from the media talking points of Champion’s parents instead of the objective report of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO).

Champion died after a hazing incident aboard a charter bus in Orlando on November 19, 2011. Pamela and Robert Champion, Sr. have repeatedly stated that their son never consented to be hazed. The bill filed by Montford alleges that “the cross-over consisted of forcing Robert Champion, Jr., to run from the front of Bus C to the back while being punched, pummeled, kicked, struck, and pushed by fellow band members and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University students.”

But the OCSO found that Champion volunteered for the violent hazing ritual.

“The hazing episode which ultimately resulted in the death of Robert Champion originally involved three victims (Keon Hollis, Lissette Sanchez, and Robert Champion),” OCSO Detective David Phelan wrote in arrest warrant affidavits for defendants in the hazing case. “Investigation revealed the aforementioned victims willingly participated in one or two of the phases of the hazing process.”

The Montford claims bill also references a Florida Board of Governors (BOG) report that was critical of FAMU’s anti-hazing program. It declined to mention a 2012 Florida auditor general report that scolded the BOG for failing to adopt a detailed regulation that sets specific minimum standards for anti-hazing programs at State University System of Florida (SUS) schools.

SB 62 is one of 27 claims bills filed in the Florida Senate for the 2014 legislative session. Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, has also filed a claims bill (SB 24) seeking $1.8 million for the 2001 death of Devaughn Darling. Darling died during a football workout at Florida State University.

Back during the 2013 session, all of the claims bills filed in the Florida Senate died in committee. The Senate leadership did not let any of the claims bills requested by its members come to the floor for a vote.