If the first rule of Fight Club is “You do not talk about Fight Club,” and the second rule of Fight Club is “You DO NOT talk about Fight Club,” then the first and second rules of a falsifying the arrest of a gay tourist is “Figure out whether the guy is on the phone with a 911 operator, who is recording the call, before you make some shit up.” Looks like two Miami policemen might have forgotten the rules:
The ACLU of Florida says two Miami Beach police officers yelled epithets at a gay tourist and falsely accused him of trying to break into cars after he witnessed them kicking and punching a handcuffed man at Flamingo Park.
As Officers Frankly Forte and Elliot Hazzi approached witness Harold Strickland, they didn’t know he was on his cellphone reporting the beating to a Miami Beach 911 dispatcher, said Robert F. Rosenwald Jr., director of the ACLU Florida’s Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender Advocacy Project.
“This is an issue that we have hoped to address for a long time. Miami Beach Police have for a long time harassed gay men around Flamingo Park without probable cause,” Rosenwald said Wednesday.
The cops have been put on desk duty, where there is a copy of The Rules waiting for them.
Dirty Ole Man
Stankin Pigs!
Dionte
There needs to be a law in place that gets rid of bad cops when they get caught doing something wrong. Like beat someone or falsely arresting people and make shit up. People lose respect and trust for them very easily. Putting them on desk duty is not enough, now they can just forge papers for the crooked cops that haven’t got caught yet!
Tom D Frog
There are many great cops out there who have earned our gratitude and wear their uniform with honor.
Then jackasses like these make the news. Someone once told me…Do you know what the difference is between a cop and a criminal…a badge. I was offended as I know and love many good men and women who wear the uniform.
These sh*t stains are to the police force what terrorists are to Islam and Pat Robertson is to Christianity…extremists in severe need for a “blanket party” from the ranks of their organization. Give them a night or two in jail with out protection and let them see what it is liked to be victimized.
t.
GetRealDude
South Beach, without a doubt, is so over…
Kate
“This is an issue that we have hoped to address for a long time. Miami Beach Police have for a long time harassed gay men around Flamingo Park without probable cause…”
If this is an issue that they’ve known about for some time
and have supposedly intended to remedy- what’s the damn holdup?
terrwill
@Kate: Because it is a Gay issue. Substitute “black” “latino” or even “muslim” and see how fast Officers Fuckface and McAsshole would be terminated
Qjersey
I support the idea of unions and belong to one, but I am sick and tired of powerful “public service” unions, e.g., teachers, police and firefighters that fight tooth and nail and waste taxpayers’ money fighting the firing of clearly inept, unqualified or unprofessional individuals.
Jonathan
I grew up in Florida and used to live in Miami Beach. Couldn’t get out of there fast enough. It was fun in the early to mid-nineties, but too dangerous for gay people.
Miami Beach is a veneer of deco paradise, the reality is the cops and people just like these. As we are more in the news, expect much more of this from these scumbags.
They hate us, and Florida is a southern state. Christian supremacists and Latin Catholics without any degree of decency.
sal(the original)
FIRE DEY ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
fubar
@Tom D Frog:
here here, couldn’t agree more
Brian NJ
Listen to the 911 tape here: http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2010/02/03/16/strickland_911_tape.source.prod_affiliate.56.mp3
JR
Anybody tired of paying taxes only to get harassed by pigs who are supposed to serve and protect??? Damn, I sure am! What big, strong, brave men keeping us safe from people kissing in the park! What fucking cowards… They deserve to be fired!!!
Same Crap
@terrwill: You’re an idiot. Youth of color in America’s big cities, especially young men, get harassed all the time by police, often with impunity.
Anyway, desk duty or leave with pay is SOP for any cop accused of improper conduct or brutality against anyone (an elderly grandma, a handicapped male, a black youth, a young gay man). That’s more a function of the very powerful unions that many police officers belong to than anything else. The internal affairs process if notoriously slow, no matter who the alleged victim is.
terrwill
@Same Crap: You think maybe once you could possily disagree with someone without tossing insults? Not every thread has to be steered towards Black issue. I happen to 100% agree with you regarding how powerful the unions are and how they protect the cops. However there would be much more of an outcry if it were any other group except Gays…………
Anne
Are they only put on desk duty? I mean, they’ll investigate this and then fire them, right? Homophobic jerks.
Same Crap
@terrwill: You’re the one who brought up blacks, latinos and Muslims in a post about a gay guy being being by cops! You said these cops would be terminated if the victims were any of these groups when the result would be exactly the same.
terrwill
@Same Crap: What I meant was that other groups have an advocate that can motivate the politicians to jump pretty quick. I know that Blacks get a lot of hurt placed on them by coppers. There is no Gay Al Sharpton (who believe it or not SC I actuall like!) or such to get immediate attention to Gay abuse and have the media react immmediatley……….
Joseph
police have too much power and not enough oversight!!!
Same Crap
That may be true, but for every publicized incident that gets media attention, there are scores that go under the radar and get zero publicity.
The process in response to allegations of police brutality is the real issue…desk duty or paid leave, followed by an extremely slow and long internal affairs process, all culminating (usually) with just a slap on the wrist against the officer or officers.
OhYeah
@Terrwill,
here we go again, Terrwill the racist bringing up other ethnic groups. Pathetic.
Miami Police Officer
The issue mentioned in this article is one for the Miami Beach Police Department not the Miami Police Department. You provided a lot of information and deal great research for it yet you failed to identify the right city. They are not the same although they share the word Miami and are near each other but then so are New York and New Jersey. They too are near each other and share the word new. Miami Police are due an apology.
1EqualityUSA
#21, Miami Police Officer, That would drive me nuts to have these homophobic, inept, sleazy “Beach” police constantly mistaken for a real department. “Miami” should be removed from the “Beach police” turds. Change it out for “Son-of-a-Beach Police” or “Absolute Beach”. These men need to be exposed.
Sandal
That kind of cops, after investifation deserves to be fired.
After listen the tae 911 tape http://media.miamiherald.com/s…..ate.56.mp3 http://www.sandalclub.tv I can just feel shame.
I dont know how they can do something like that.