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Slain Informant's Parents Say Police 'Out Of Control'

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON, JOSH POLTILOVE and MARK DOUGLAS

The Tampa Tribune and News Channel 8

Published: January 23, 2009

The parents of Rachel Hoffman will appear on "Dateline NBC" tonight as part of an effort to pass a state law protecting confidential informants such as their daughter, who was fatally shot last year while working with Tallahassee police.

Irv Hoffman, a licensed mental health counselor, and his ex-wife, Margie Weiss, a holistic nurse, are highly critical of how Tallahassee police enlisted their 23-year-old daughter to work for them by using Rachel Hoffman's suspected drug activities as leverage against her.

"My daughter's crime with having a baggie of pot was not commensurate with being murdered and set up with ex-felons and handguns," Weiss told WFLA-TV this morning in an interview that will appear on News Channel 8 before the "Dateline" segment. "She had no experience with that."

Irv Hoffman, who also talked to WFLA, is of the same mind.

"I think the police are out of control with using young adults and coercing them and scaring them into doing things that they are just not capable or trained to do," Hoffman said. "I think it's just a wake-up call for the whole country."

Under a bill dubbed Rachel's Law, which was filed by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, police would be required to give potential informants an opportunity to talk with their lawyers. It also requires a written contract between informants and investigators, and deals need the approval of a state attorney.

"I think if we can get Rachel's law passed it won't only just help myself and her mother, but I think it will help protect a lot of other people out there who are doing confidential informant work," Hoffman said.

"I think Rachel was exploited," Hoffman said. "I think she was coerced into doing something that she had no training for." His daughter, among other things, had never fired a gun.

"These deals are made and these kids are frightened, they're afraid their life is going to be ruined unless they do what they're asked to do," Hoffman said. "They're also guaranteed they are going to be protected and 'We have your back' and obviously this was not the case with Rachel."

Both parents spoke lovingly of their daughter, saying the Clearwater woman had her shortcomings but was destined for a "bright future and it was cut short." If passed, the bill will serve as her living legacy, Hoffman said.

Rachel's Law is expected to be discussed in this year's legislative session, which begins March 3. Irv Hoffman and Weiss agreed months ago to a "Dateline" interview so they could speak about the proposed legislation, said the family's attorney, Lance Block.

Hoffman agreed to work with police after she was arrested on drug charges, including possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession with intent to sell Ecstasy.

She had planned to meet police officers at a park, where a drug deal was supposed to occur. Instead, she called from the park to say the location had been changed. The investigators told her to stay where she was, but she wasn't there when they arrived.

Her body was found days later in rural Taylor County, southeast of Tallahassee.

After her death, Tallahassee police defended their use of Hoffman as a confidential informant. Her family and friends said police put an unprepared woman in danger.

In August, a grand jury said police negligence contributed to her death. The grand jury recommended Tallahassee police should discipline the officers participating in the case and change procedures and policies on the use of informants.

Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Tallahassee on Dec. 30. Block declined to say how much money the family is seeking, but "suffice it to say, it's a catastrophic case. It's a catastrophic case because Rachel's parents lost their only child, and they are devastated by it."

The city requested a mediation to resolve the case, and the family has agreed to meet with the city this month, Block said.

"Dateline" intended to run the piece on Hoffman last week but instead ran a story about the plane that crashed into the Hudson River in New York.

Information from Tribune archives and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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