More Questions Arise As Second Police Shooting Video Is Released

I’m expecting the police to “discover” evidence linking Herisse to the Kennedy assassination any day now.  Perhaps as the oft-rumored second shooter on the grassy knoll.  And maybe they can tie global warming to him somehow too…

Posted on 06/07/2011 at 11:20 AM

Carlos,

I know you report a lot instances where the Miami Police allegedly make mistakes and injure/kill innocent people. And that’s all we hear. Are there any court cases or lawsuit updates as to what happens afterwords?

Posted on 06/07/2011 at 12:12 PM

I watched the videos..the first one is hard to make heads or tails of but the second is scary. It’s as if this is not the US. Things like this are not supposed to happen here. When the cops were firing at the victim, did they know if others were in the car? Police should take safety measures for this weekend. Set up a check point and inspect people for weapons..Do precautionary things so situations like this can be avoided. I really think these cops don’t have proper training. And imagine how they must feel after a shooting that could have been avoided. They have to live with that gulit for the rest of their lives.

Posted on 06/07/2011 at 12:25 PM

Well, there’s the case of Adam Tavss, the cop who killed two unarmed people in less than a week a couple of years back.

http://www.miamibeach411.com/news/unarmed-tourist

He was cleared of the shootings, but then was arrested for operating a marijuana grow house at his home.

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2010/05/adam_tavss_miami_beachs_killer.php

Then he was arrested for beating up his girlfriend and as far as I know, he is still behind bars.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/05/09/ex-miami-beach-cop-cleared-in-shooting-arrested-again/

Funny thing is, I was criticized by local bloggers two years ago for reporting on the fact that he had a previous domestic violence arrest.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Officer-Who-Killed-Twice-in-Four-Days-Accused-of-Domestic-Violence-in-the-Past.html

Posted on 06/07/2011 at 12:30 PM

The first video is chilling after the police pull their guns on the car with the man taping them. All I can hear is the people asking “where can we go?” That must have been scary.

Like it or not, MDW in South Beach is out of control, and I am sure anyone watching those videos won’t be coming back next year.

Posted on 06/07/2011 at 1:02 PM

” ...police describe as a long-time felon who tried to run over several officers before he was shot and killed.” - So it was a revenge killing, not ‘self defense’. Cops are scum.

Posted on 06/07/2011 at 5:17 PM

Sue’em! Sue’em all!!! Every last cop who was even within a mile of the place.

And let the lawyers sort it out.

Posted on 06/08/2011 at 11:33 AM

The police involved need to be thrown in jail and the city should be bankrupt by allow these thugs to continue to operate this way!

Posted on 06/08/2011 at 12:20 PM

I’m willing to give the cops some benefit of the doubt seeing how tough their
job can be, but, how can the creepy fascist bastards get away with destroying evidence, much less destroying property, under these kinds of circumstances?
Could Amerika be more fuct? I think not.

Posted on 06/08/2011 at 5:33 PM

There is about one cop to every 300 or so citizens, right? I dunno, I just made that up. the point is - there are a hell of a lot more of us then there are pigs. There is strength in numbers people. It is our duty to stop this. They can’t shoot us all, and there’s no way they could shoot us all before we take them down and disarm them. Period.

Posted on 06/09/2011 at 8:02 AM

Guilt, Christy? What are you? A rube? And no….I suspect they weren’t improperly trained…..that’s exactly what they were trained for….

Posted on 06/09/2011 at 1:13 PM

@James Solbakken:
Do you give even greater benefit of the doubt to tuna fishermen, firefighters and roofing installers?  Because all three of those jobs are more dangerous than police work; Police work isn’t even in the top 10 for danger.

Posted on 06/09/2011 at 9:41 PM

Oh, this is the last straw. Florida must be run by incompetent thugs and corrupt officials who think the Constitution no more than a fancy bit of toilet paper on which to wipe their flabby hind-ends.

I’ve been keeping up on the various stories locally to where we’ve planned on vacationing this summer, and it’s not making me happy.

I will NOT put my family, my children in danger of being abused by criminals with badges. I do NOT like this at ALL. :-(

DISNEY will be getting notice of my plans to cancel the family vacation this year. I’ve already booked, but can back out.

I think we’ll go to Alaska instead.

Posted on 06/10/2011 at 6:19 PM

Wow, you all don’t even know the half of it. Lets try to think outside the box for once. The videos do not show the exact circumstances of what happened before the video was recording.  Did you notice the people running in the bottom left when the car was speeding?  Cops just don’t shoot people unless they think there lives or others are in danger.  For those who rip on the cops or other law enforcement, they have to be this way to impose authority among their community.  Cops have to deal with this a lot and at times is takes a toll on them.  I mean they are human.  The frustration of clearing the scene can be cumbersome when every cop near by has no idea who shot who or who was the friends of the bad guys.  So having there weapon out and pointing it might be necessary to gain control of the area.  However, trying to destroy the phones should not of happened but again, frustration may have set in and perhaps some of those cops were the best trained.  Still, they were doing it cause they knew people who saw that video would twist and turn the event that occurred in every which way to make it entertaining and promote negativity among the cops and this incident.  Its stereotypical to say cops in crooked and unconstitutional.  What happens when your in trouble or in an accident or need emergency assistance, what is the first think everyone does? call 911.  Well let see how we operate without that option? 
Oh, regarding the legal consent to search the car, cops don’t need legal authroity to get the body out or search for weapons within reach of the accused.  Its an officer safety thing.  They need to obtain a search warrant to search the car entirely and that can take a day or two to get because the proposal cause took time to properly compile and present to a judge.

Posted on 06/11/2011 at 8:49 PM

A good kid, only been arrested 13 times…

Posted on 06/12/2011 at 8:41 AM

MC50 said -
Cops just don’t shoot people unless they think there lives or others are in danger. 
HAH! I don’t know what universe he lives in but here in the USA. cops kill Marines who try to defend their families during TWAT team break-ins, they shoot children’s pets in front of them, they kill retarded men waving fluorescent light bulbs, they kill 14 year old Down’s Syndrome boys for running toward them; they beat the sh*t out of whoever they want just because they had a bad day, poor babies, or their girlfriend said ‘No”, or their team lost… if you haven’t seen videos of them slapping around teenage girls who had the audacity to question them or beating up kids for skating in the wrong place then you have’t been watching.
It seems that many of the cops just can’t get it up unless they act out their sadistic fantasies; and after they snuff some poor bastard they have a mental image to go home and whack off to.

Posted on 06/13/2011 at 3:30 PM

MC50 I will tell you what will happen if there is no 911 to call ... you will have a better chance of SURVIVING any incident, accident or emergency if you do not have to deal with the protecters and servers. Their main mantra is about officer safety but citizens involved in police contact have a much greater chance of winding up dead than the police officer.
Of course their bully boy tactics and deadly use of force are covered up by their superiors, prosecutors and judges - they are all part of the system and look after one another.

Posted on 06/14/2011 at 8:35 PM

The police are the largest street gang in America. See this link - http://www.myspace.com/video/boilingfrogs/the-largest-street-gang-in-america/54162036

Posted on 06/16/2011 at 6:43 PM

That’s just scary, the police are losing control…of themselves. Executing suspects, drawing guns on citizen videographers, firing at drunk drivers. That entire department is a risk to citizens, it should be overhauled like what they did in NOLA. Unfortunately, this won’t be the last of these types of incidents as long as we tolerate the kind of fascistic culture that seems to be the norm in the many police departments across the country.

Posted on 06/20/2011 at 4:09 AM

None of you will know what it’s like to be behind the badge until you are. Being the garbagemen of society is largely thankless. However, even if its a messy and stinky business, someone has to do it, so that you can go home at night, work, live, shop and worship with a degree of safety.
Mistakes are made, by all humans, law enforcement officers included and YOU included.
I wasn’t there, so I don’t know what happened, no matter how many videos of the even you have. None of you, unless you were there with an advantageous point of view and in a state of mind allowing to observe and process the information, know what happened.

Posted on 07/10/2011 at 8:45 PM

As a 23yr Military Veteran and 6yrs working for municipal law enforcement; I was totally shocked to witness the lack of judgment and poor tactics at best by the Miami Beach Police Department. I served 3 tours in Iraq and 1yr in Afghanistan and I never experienced those types of indiscretion even in Combat where the insurgents are launching unconventional warfare to kill our troops.

Law enforcement is authorized to use Deadly Force to save their own life and the life others when all lesser means have failed. however, they also have to take into consideration innocent bystanders and their surroundings.

A speeding car can be considered as a lethal threat but there were at least over 100 police officers on Collins Ave, each equipped with hand-held radio which they can use and activate their pre-planned response for that type of situation. Open fire on a moving car traveling on a crowded street is poor tactics at a minimum.

Once the car makes complete stops, I watched from the hotel lobby that several officers quickly approached the vehicle. Nearly all the police officers were shouting some type of commands at the driver of the vehicle which created more confusion and intensified an already tense situation.

Without any warnings, a police officer fired at the vehicle and the rest you can clearly see on the video that nearly all the officers present at that scene discharged or emptied their weapons. Totally Unacceptable, lack of command and control which resulted on several officers and civilian pedestrians wounded in the process.

Here’s what I think happen:

The initial shooting by the police officers to stop the vehicle was terrible, out of policy and poor tactics. Was it criminal per say; it will be hard to find a jury willing to convict those officers whether we think it’s right or not.
The second shooting once the vehicle made a complete stop was totally wrong. I believed one of the police officer under this very tense situation, discharged his or her weapon by accident or intentionally. In response, the rest of the police officers may believed that the shot was coming from the vehicle and they all went to a ” Spray & Pray Mode” without acquiring a clear sight picture of their intended target, without any regards to the civilian population and innocent bystanders.
Basically this operation was a fiasco and the cover up started right away once the police department realized the driver was unarmed and the possibility of video footage of the incident. It took nearly 3 days to produce a firearm that was found in the car.
That is straight B.S. Once a crime is committed; under the Exigent Circumstances Rule and Probable Cause; law enforcement doesn’t need a Search Warrant to conduct a Search. The presence of a firearm alone doesn’t constitute the Deadly Force Triangle (Capability, Opportunity and Intent). Therefore It’s extremely hard for them to justify the Killing of Raymond Herrise. Law Enforcement Officers make mistakes all the time, but taking someone life under those conditions raised several questions that will be debating at Police Forum and Academy for years to follow. The key is that Minority leaders need to ensure that Police Officials and elected officials are vicariously liable and accountable for their actions.
Dont take No for an answer, seek and demand the truth from an independent and transparent investigation. Without those meausres in place, those types of incident will take place over and over again as long we don’t demand fair and equal policing in the urban community.

The victim’s family needs to file multiple lawsuit against Every Police Officers on duty that night to include the Senior Officer present, Watch Commander, Police Chief and the Mayor. Deep pocket theory works, once the city starts loosing a lot of money, it will become fiscally irresponsible to employ those tactics that will result in a bonfire lawsuit. As a result, we will get a much better trained police department who totally understands the ramification of bad policing.

Posted on 07/31/2011 at 10:53 PM