Miami Police Chiefs Reflect On Death Of George Floyd

NORTH MIAMI, FL — Before Saturday's violent clash between police and demonstrators in downtown Miami, a number of Miami-area police chiefs told Patch they denounced the events in Minneapolis that led to the death of George Floyd.

"We are always training," Miami-Dade County Police Director Freddy Ramirez shared with Patch in an interview Friday during the annual officer of the year award ceremony by the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police.

"In some cases we set the standards. We look for modern ways to improve at how we perform," Ramirez said. "When these issues happen — or these tactical failures, if you will — we learn from that to make sure that never happens. We want to make sure that our community is safe, and our officers are safe when they are serving. That's our number one priority, the sanctity of life."

Ramirez, who commands the largest law enforcement agency in Miami-Dade County and one of the 10 largest in the United States, said ethical policing decisions begin with finding the right people for the job.

"What I expect is that all of our officers follow the values of this department," he said. "When we hire, we want good, honorable people who love their community and love their department."

The Miami-Dade Association of Chiefs of Police, which includes the cities of Miami and Miami Beach, was among the first law enforcement groups to condemn the police response that led to the death of Floyd and the firings of four Minnesota police officers.

The former high school football star's death touched off days of violent protests in Minnesota and sparked protests across the United States, including the protest Saturday night in downtown Miami that turned violent.

See:

• Dozens Arrested In Miami As Peaceful Protest Turns Violent
• George Floyd Protest: Fire Breaks Out At Saint Paul Auto Shop

Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho led Miami-area police chiefs in a moment of silent prayer Friday to honor the memory of Floyd.

"Good people of good will can always carve out common ground around that which is good, around that which is right, righteous and rightful," Carvalho told the chiefs. "Good people of good will can always be that light in the darkest of places and those people are you. We will not allow the mistakes of one, or a few, to tarnish the brilliance of the many."

Miami Beach Police Chief Rick Clements said his agency will continue to stress the value of life in training

"Everyone is very concerned about what happened in Minneapolis," he confided. "Our goal is to safeguard them, to provide services that they deem to be the most appropriate means of our resources, and really for the most part, to give them peace of mind."

Daniel Junior, who heads the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police, said he was disturbed by the video that showed a Minneapolis police officer pushing his knee deep into Floyd's neck.

"Nothing that was displayed in that video, which is very disturbing, aligns with current training that we do now in law enforcement, police or corrections," said Junior, who leads the 2,800-member Miami-Dade County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. "We train folks all the time on the reality of positional asphyxia."

Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma K. Noel-Pratt said her agency's training will continue to emphasize the importance of treating people with respect and doing the right thing.

"We have to just keep reiterating to them the importance of doing the right thing when they're out there dealing with the community," said Noel-Pratt, whose predominantly black community was the site of this year's Super Bowl. "You can't teach everything, but you have to make sure that you reiterate certain things to the officers, so they understand exactly what our partnership is with the community and what it entails."