Over the past several months there has been a disturbing trend growing in police departments across the nation. I have recently touched on this subject in one of my previous posts Rampant Police Misconduct.
On May 30th, 2011 there was a wild fire fight on the streets of Miami. In the following video Miami’s finest can be seen displaying a blatant disregard for public safety. A squad of police officers can be seen unleashing a deadly and chaotic hail of gunfire. Reportedly over 100 shots were fired during the incident. As a result of this recklessness four innocent bystanders were shot during the massacre. The suspect Raymond Herisse was also shot and killed by police.
The second video was shot during the aftermath of the gun battle. My hat goes off to Narces Benoit who cleverly concealed this crucial evidence before the authorities could destroy it. Benoit was able to accomplish this by hiding his phone’s SIM card in his mouth. During a subsequent interview Mr. Benoit went on to say “When he noticed me recording, one of the officers jumped in the truck, put a pistol to my head, my phone was smashed – he stepped on it, handcuffed me”. Benoit’s girlfriend, Ericka Davis, who was also in the truck was quoted as saying “We could have been killed, they were shooting so long, you could hear their guns clicking on empty, but they kept pulling the trigger”.
Further complicating the matter are conflicting statements from the Miami Beach Police. Initially they had stated that Raymond Herisse was unarmed and that he had struck and officer with his car. They have now gone on to say that they did find a semiautomatic weapon in the vehicle. I find all of this to be very suspicious especially from an organization that was filmed intimidating witnesses.
Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega had this to say about the shooting “our officers responded to what I consider to be situations involving deadly force”. Mayor Matti Herrera Bower went on to say “this incident really mars us”. I would be hard pressed to disagree with Mayer Bower.
Unfortunately this sets a terrifying precedent for the American public. Are we now to expect heavy handed gestapo tactics as standard police procedure? It is a sad day indeed when the police are more dangerous then the criminals they apprehend.
Do you have any police horror stories? Please feel free to let us know by leaving a comment.
Blue Scholar Blog 
Looks like someone has been playing too much Grand Theft Auto.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to
be really something which I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!