Marijuana Policy Project

Tallahassee police are expected to release some details today of Rachel Hoffman's most recent arrest, which led to her working for the police. Hoffman, 23, was never charged with a crime or booked into jail as a result of a recent run-in with the law, but Police Chief Dennis Jones has said she faced multiple drug-related charges.

Hoffman was killed last week after a drug buying operation went awry. Two men have been arrested and are expected to be charged with her murder, police said.

Attorneys: Tallahassee PD Mum On Hoffman

The attorneys of the Tallahassee woman who was killed while working as a police informant said her family is exasperated by the lack of information coming from the Tallahassee Police Department.

Rachel Morningstar Hoffman, 23, was found dead Friday morning in rural Taylor County. She was last seen Wednesday night near Forestmeadows Park, where she was helping police in a supervised buy bust. Two men, Andrea J. Green and Deneilo Bradshaw, have been arrested on charges of kidnapping and armed robbery. Murder charges are pending, according to TPD. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is assisting in the investigation.

"Today is Mother's Day, and today, Rachel Hoffman's mother will spend her day preparing for a funeral and the burial of her only daughter, who was taken in a senseless and extreme act of violence," attorney Johnny Devine said Sunday at a news conference.

Devine and attorney Danielle Joyner Kelley said the family needs answers, but police have not been forthcoming.

"They are left to speculate about the last night of their daughter's life," Joyner Kelley said. "That is reprehensible."

Officer David McCranie, spokesman for the Police Department, said while his heart goes out to the Hoffmans, there are certain details the police cannot release at this time.

"It's something that we want to do, but there are ongoing operations right now that could place officers and confidential informants in jeopardy by releasing that information," he said. "I hope we're able to at some point, so we can at least clarify for the public and Rachel's family that her safety was paramount."

The family wants to know why their daughter, who has no violent criminal record, was asked to buy a gun, as well as 1,500 ecstasy pills and 2 ounces of cocaine or crack cocaine, from Green and Bradshaw in the police narcotics investigation, they said. They want to know how much training she had to go undercover. They want to know how police lost her when she decided to leave the park area.

"Why was she put in that position in the first place?" Devine said.

Devine and Joyner Kelley said Hoffman's family is angry that police officials at a Friday press conference blamed Hoffman for her own death and presented her criminal record without revealing in detail what happened during the buy bust and how police lost track of her.

"They really need to quit acting like a lawsuit has already been filed," Joyner Kelly said.

When asked about a potential lawsuit, Devine and Joyner Kelley said the Hoffman family is not filing one at this time.

Joyner Kelley said she thinks the Police Department needs to take a hard look at how it chooses informants.

"The program would need to be evaluated to make sure this doesn't happen again," she said.

Tallahassee Police Chief Dennis Jones will be reviewing the facts of Hoffman's operation to make sure the officers involved were following the correct procedures. Jones will make adjustments to protocol if necessary. McCranie said it's too early to say whether the officers should have done anything differently.