Parents of Florida child killed by dogs speak out as dangerous animals bill passes subcommittee
8-twear-old Michael Millett was mauled by a pair of dogs in his neighborhood just north of DeLand in January.
On Wednesday, his parents traveled to Tallahassee with Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood to share their story with state lawmakers. It was the first time Tiffani and Michael Millett have spoken publicly about their son's death.
House Bill 593, filed by state Rep. Judson Sapp, aims to strengthen Florida's laws regarding dangerous dogs and create stricter penalties for their owners.
The bill includes these provisions;
Requires dog owners to securely confine dogs with known dangerous propensities
Mandates that owners of dangerous dogs obtain at least $100,000 in liability insurance
Establishes a statewide dangerous dog registry to be maintained by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Requires animal control authorities to provide information to the registry
Specifies that dogs declared dangerous due to incidents causing severe human injury must be destroyed
Increases the maximum fine for violations of the dangerous dog statute to $1,000
The bill is also known as the 'Pam Rock Act.' Rock was mail carrier who was killed by a pack of dogs in Putnam County in August 2022.
An identical version of the bill was introduced in the state Senate
The bill is currently making its way through the Florida House. If passed, it would take effect on July 1.
Michael's family knows getting the law passed will not change their situation, but it could help other families in the future.
'This will help make necessary changes. No one should ever have to go through that,' Michael Millett told the subcommittee.
Sapp was visibly emotional as he listened to the testimony.
The subcommittee unanimously approved the bill. It will go to three more committees before a House vote.
The parents spoke exclusively with WFTV, saying, 'The days do not get easier. The nights do not get easier. Every morning, it's like having to relive it, and now we want justice. It's just constant living in panic mode, never being able to relax, always feeling like you're forgetting something.'
When asked about why they felt the need to make the trip to address lawmakers, Michael Millett said, 'Without this bill there will be no justice for another family, and that's why we're so supportive of this bill.'
Chitwood organized the family's trip and took them to the Statehouse. This case really impacted the sheriff, and he has repeatedly expressed frustration, saying the dog's owners are not being held accountable under current state law.
The dog's owners are under investigation for manslaughter by culpable negligence and owning a dangerous dog. They have not been charged with any crimes at this time.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump tells Schumer to 'GO TO HELL' over Senate nominee deal funding demands after negotiations collapse
Hours of tense negotiations to strike a deal on President Donald Trump's nominees blew up Saturday night, and now lawmakers are headed home. Senate Republicans and Democrats were quick to point the finger at one another for the deal's demise, but it was ultimately Trump who nuked the talks. Pirro Confirmed As D.c. U.s. Attorney Amid Partisan Clash As Dem Nominee Blockade Continues In a lengthy post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of "demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees." "This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted. It is political extortion, by any other name," Trump said. "Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!" "Do not accept the offer," he continued. "Go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Read On The Fox News App Dems Dig In, Trump Demands All: Nominee Fight Boils Over In Senate As Gop Looks For A Deal Instead of finding a pathway to vote on as many as 60 of the president's nominees, all of which moved through committee with bipartisan support, lawmakers rapid-fire voted on seven before leaving Washington until September. But Schumer treated Trump's move as a victory for Senate Democrats. He countered that it was the president who gave up on negotiations while he and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., worked to find a bipartisan solution, "provided the White House and Senate Republicans met our demands." "He took his ball, he went home, leaving Democrats and Republicans alike wondering what the hell happened," Schumer said, standing next to a poster-sized version of the president's post. "Trump's all-caps Tweet said it all," he continued. "In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic work of negotiating." But prior to the president's edict, both sides of the aisle believed they were on the verge of a breakthrough to both meet Trump's desire to see his nominees confirmed and leave Washington. Thune said that there were "lots of offers" made between him and Schumer over the course of negotiations. "There were several different times where I think either or both sides maybe thought there was a deal in the end," he said. Senate Democrats wanted the White House to unfreeze billions in National Institute of Health and foreign aid funding, in addition to a future agreement that no more clawback packages would come from the White House. In exchange, they would greenlight several of Trump's non-controversial nominees. Recess On Ice As Republicans Hunker Down For High-stakes Nominee Blitz Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., accused Schumer of going "too far" by upping the price tag on his demands. "We've had three different deals since last night," he said. "And every time it's been, every time it's 'I want more,'" Mullin said of Schumer's demands. He said that Republicans weren't caught off guard by Trump's call to halt talks, and noted that the White House had been heavily involved in negotiations. "You get to a realization that there was, it was never about making a deal," he continued. "They want to go out and say the President's being unrealistic, and because he can't answer to his base to make a deal like we have in every other president in history." Now, Republicans won't pursue recess appointments, but Mullin noted that moving ahead with a rule change to the confirmation process when lawmakers return in September was going to happen in response. "The asks evolved on both sides quite a bit over time," Thune said. "But in the end, we never got to a place where we had both sides agree to lock it in." Senate Democrats, on the other hand, countered that their offer never changed, and that Republicans kept increasing the number of nominees they wanted across the line, and attempted to include more controversial, partisan picks. Schumer wouldn't reveal the details of his demands, but charged that any changes to Senate rules would be a "huge mistake," and urged Trump to work with Senate Democrats moving forward, particularly as Congress hurtles toward yet another deadline to fund the government in September. "They should stop listening to him," Schumer said. "If they want to do what's good for the American people, they shouldn't be in blind obeisance to Donald Trump."Original article source: Trump tells Schumer to 'GO TO HELL' over Senate nominee deal funding demands after negotiations collapse
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Trump tells Schumer to ‘GO TO HELL' over Senate nominee deal after negotiations blow up
Hours of tense negotiations to strike a deal on President Donald Trump's nominees blew up Saturday night, and now lawmakers are headed home. Senate Republicans and Democrats were quick to point the finger at one another for the deal's demise, but it was ultimately Trump who nuked the talks. Advertisement In a lengthy post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of 'demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees.' 'This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted. It is political extortion, by any other name,' Trump said. 'Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!' 'Do not accept the offer,' he continued. Advertisement 'Go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!' Instead of finding a pathway to vote on as many as 60 of the president's nominees, all of which moved through committee with bipartisan support, lawmakers rapid-fire voted on seven before leaving Washington until September. But prior to the president's edict, both sides of the aisle believed they were on the verge of a breakthrough to both meet Trump's desire to see his nominees confirmed and leave Washington. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that there were 'lots of offers' made between him and Schumer over the course of negotiations. Advertisement 3 President Trump called out Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Truth Social, accusing him of 'demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees.' AP 'There were several different times where I think either or both sides maybe thought there was a deal in the end,' he said. Senate Democrats wanted the White House to unfreeze billions in National Institute of Health and foreign aid funding, in addition to a future agreement that no more clawback packages would come from the White House. In exchange, they would greenlight several of Trump's non-controversial nominees. Advertisement Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., accused Schumer of going 'too far' by upping the price tag on his demands. 3 Trump also said in his post, 'Go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country.' 'We've had three different deals since last night,' he said. 'And every time it's been, every time it's 'I want more,'' Mullin said of Schumer's demands. He said that Republicans weren't caught off guard by Trump's call to halt talks, and noted that the White House had been heavily involved in negotiations. 'You get to a realization that there was, it was never about making a deal,' he continued. 3 Lawmakers decided to only vote on 7 of Trump's 60 nominees for positions in his administration. AP 'They want to go out and say the President's being unrealistic, and because he can't answer to his base to make a deal like we have in every other president in history.' Advertisement Now, Republicans won't pursue recess appointments, but Mullin noted that moving ahead with a rule changes to the confirmation process when lawmakers return in September was going to happen in response. Senate Democrats, on the other hand, countered that their offer never changed, and that Republicans kept increasing the number of nominees they wanted across the line, and attempted to include in more controversial, partisan picks. 'The ask evolved on both sides quite a bit over time,' Thune said. 'But in the end, we never got to a place where we had both sides agree to lock it in.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Senate heads home with no deal to speed confirmations as irate Trump tells Schumer to ‘go to hell'
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Schumer said a rules change would be a 'huge mistake,' especially as Senate Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass spending bills and other legislation moving forward. Advertisement 'Donald Trump tried to bully us, go around us, threaten us, call us names, but he got nothing,' Schumer said. The latest standoff comes as Democrats and Republicans have gradually escalated their obstruction of the other party's executive branch and judicial nominees over the last two decades, and as Senate leaders have incrementally changed Senate rules to speed up confirmations — and make them less bipartisan. Advertisement In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump's nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (center) during a news conference after a policy luncheon at the Capitol on Tuesday. Mariam Zuhaib/Associated Press Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to cancel the August recess and grind through dozens of his nominations as Democrats have slowed the process. But Republicans hoped to make a deal with Democrats instead, and came close several times over the last few days as the two parties and the White House negotiated over moving a large tranche of nominees in exchange for reversing some of the Trump administration's spending cuts on foreign aid, among other issues. The Senate held a rare weekend session on Saturday as Republicans held votes on nominee after nominee and as the two parties tried to work out the final details of a deal. But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media Saturday evening and told Republicans to pack it up and go home. 'Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country.' Thune said afterward that there were 'several different times' when the two sides thought they had a deal, but in the end 'we didn't close it out.' It's the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn't allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try and confirm as many of Trump's nominees as possible. Advertisement But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they too were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation. 'We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,' Schumer said.
