On May 7, 2008, Rachel Hoffman, aged 23, was en route to purchase two and a half ounces of cocaine, 1500 ecstasy pills, and a firearm.
Her movements were under the watch of 19 officers and a Drug Enforcement Administration surveillance aircraft. Despite this, while she was on her way to meet two drug dealers with $13,000 in cash and a wire hidden in her purse, authorities lost track of her.
Within hours, she was tragically shot five times in the chest and head with the gun she was supposed to buy.
Hoffman had been working as a police informant at the time she was killed.
The events leading to this began a few weeks prior when she was discovered with illegal drugs in her apartment.
A search of her home by police revealed more than five ounces of marijuana, along with ecstasy and valium pills.
Since this was her second offense involving narcotics, she agreed to cooperate with the city’s drug team, hoping her charges would be lessened or dismissed.
Hoffman consented to become an informant for the Tallahassee Police Department under investigator Ryan Pender’s oversight, yet the operation tragically failed.
Initially, everything proceeded smoothly until the drug dealers decided to change the location for the transaction.
Hoffman was reportedly told not to go to the new location by authorities, but she apparently never received this message.
Soon after, police lost her signal, and following a 36-hour search, her body was discovered in a ravine in Taylor County. She had sustained five gunshot wounds to her head and chest.
Her death resulted in significant changes to how informants are recruited and trained by law enforcement.
A year after her passing, Florida enacted Rachel’s Law, outlining guidelines for police when working with informants.
This law mandates that authorities must provide special training and clarify that working as an informant may not necessarily lead to reduced sentences.
Additionally, potential informants should be allowed to consult with a lawyer before going undercover if they choose to do so.
“Rachel’s Law remains one of the most important pieces of legislation in the informant landscape, even though over the past decade there have been many new developments,” said Alexandra Natapoff, a law professor at the University of California Irvine School of Law, to Tallahassee Democrat.
The individuals responsible for Hoffman’s murder are currently serving life sentences, and the Tallahassee Police Department was found negligent regarding her death.
“It’s a lesson learned, not only by our department but other agencies, to implement changes,” stated TPD Spokesman Damon Miller.
“It is unfortunate that Ms. Hoffman died, and with our policies and in accordance with Rachel’s law, we don’t want this to ever happen again.”