RACHEL HOFFMAN'S FRIENDS, SUPPORTERS PROTEST POLICE DEPARTMENT ACTIONS

Demonstrators Call For TPD to be Held Accountable

Friends of slain Tallahassee woman Rachel Morningstar Hoffman at a
protest Wednesday clamored for accountability from the Tallahassee
Police Department.

"There should be some kind of justice," said Muhammad Ashraf, 22, who
knew Hoffman for about a year. "Ultimately, it was the police's duty
to protect her."

Hoffman, 23, a 2007 Florida State University graduate, died last week
during a botched police operation. She was last seen by police about 7
p.m. Wednesday near Forestmeadows Park, where she was to go undercover
during a drug sting.

She left the area to meet the two men she was to buy the drugs and a
gun from, despite a vice officer's efforts to stop her. Hoffman became
an informant after police found drugs in her apartment in April.
Police have not revealed the exact circumstances of her death. The two
men were later arrested in her kidnapping and armed robbery. Murder
charges are expected.

Between 80 and 100 people gathered at the Old Capitol to raise
awareness about what happened to her last week. The group marched once
in a circle, crossing the street at Monroe Street, Apalachee Parkway
and Jefferson Street. They waved signs with messages like "TPD: No
More Lies." They chanted slogans. Anytime someone driving by honked,
the crowd cheered.

"What we're trying to do is make sure TPD is accountable for their
actions," said Matthew Zimmerman, vice president of the Florida State
University chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws.

The march was organized by Zimmerman and John Mola, president of the
chapter. Mola said he contacted Hoffman's friends through Facebook
after last week's events to talk about what happened and form a plan
of action.

MacKenzie Smith, 21, who said she knew Hoffman since they attended
middle school, held a sign that said "Honk 4 Resignation."

"I just think it was stupid that this all happened over drugs," she
said. "I don't think her life was worth busting two dudes."

Hoffman's cousin, Rebecca Shillings, 32, of Boynton Beach, stood
before the protestors and read from her Blackberry the same eulogy
Hoffman's mother, Margie Weiss, gave at her daughter's funeral Tuesday
in Palm Harbor.

"I think Rachel was just looking for a solution," Shillings said. "I'm
sure she didn't know it was going to end up like that ... If I'd been
in the situation, I don't know if I'd have done anything different.
You trust police to keep you safe."

Barry Gulker, a Tallahassee lawyer, talked to the protestors about how
they need to exercise their civil rights. He urged them not to allow
police to search their car or home without a warrant and to consult a
lawyer if they find themselves in trouble like Hoffman did. Gulker, a
musician in the band Stillwood, said he often gives the same speech to
young people who attend music festivals where his band plays.

After the protest, the group headed to the Palace Saloon on Jackson
Bluff Road to reminisce about Hoffman at one of her favorites spots in
Tallahassee.