In its early years, the MPD enacted an oppressive racial system in Miami. The MPD did not protect the black community from violence, as well as aided in the harassment and terrorization of the black population. In 2018, the
Miami New Times wrote, "Miami cops have a storied history of getting caught committing the very crimes they are supposed to police." Jorge Colina became MPD Chief of Police in 2018. In March 2021,
Art Acevedo became Miami Police Department chief. Prior to this role, he served as the chief of police in
Houston. Art Acevedo was fired on October 14, 2021
Civil rights investigations by U.S. Department of Justice The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated the Miami Police Department twice, once beginning in 2002 and once from 2011–2013. The investigation by
DOJ's Civil Rights Division and the
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida that was completed in 2013 The DOJ investigation concluded that the Miami Police Department "engaged in a pattern or practice of
excessive use of force through officer-involved shootings in violation of the
Fourth Amendment of the Constitution." A comprehensive settlement agreement between the DOJ and the City of Miami was reached in February 2016; under the agreement, the police department was obligated to take specific steps to reduce the number of officer-involved shootings (through enhanced training and supervision) and to "more effectively and quickly investigate officer-involved shootings that do occur" (through improvements to the internal investigation process and tighter rules for when an officer who shoots may return to work).
Jane Castor, the former police chief of
Tampa, Florida, was appointed as the independent monitor to oversee the city's compliance with the reforms.
Controversy over officer arrest On October 11, 2011, Miami Police Department officer Fausto Lopez was speeding and driving erratically when he was caught by Florida Highway Patrol trooper Donna Jane Watts, after a 7-minute chase, with the video going viral on
YouTube. Watts initially believed that the MPD cruiser had been stolen, so Lopez was arrested at gunpoint and handcuffed. This started a feud between the Florida Highway Patrol and the MPD (who regarded the arrest as an overreaction), involving police blog accusations and insults, posters attacking Watts, the state trooper who stopped Lopez, and someone smearing feces on another trooper's patrol car. In February 2012, an investigation by the
Sun-Sentinel examined SunPass toll records, and found that 800 police officers from a dozen South Florida agencies drove their cruisers above 90 mph in 2011, mostly while off duty. As a result of the Sun-Sentinel report, 158 state troopers and officers were disciplined, mostly receiving a reprimand and losing their take-home cars for up to six months. Lopez, who was found to have driven 90 mph on more than 80 occasions, was suspended with pay in early July 2012 and terminated from the MPD on September 13, 2012.
Controversy over shooting unarmed motorist On February 11, 2011, Miami Police killed an unarmed motorist during a traffic stop and wounded another person in the car. Prosecutors declined to prosecute as they did not think they could say it was provable beyond a reasonable doubt that Miami Officer Reynaldo Goyos could have thought the driver was reaching for a weapon.
Retaliation against officers who expose wrongdoing The Miami Community Police Benevolent Association (MCPBA), the city's Black police officers' union, has criticized the MPD for what it says is a culture of retaliation against police officers who blow the whistle on wrongdoing by fellow MPD officers.
Controversial detention of African American COVID-19 doctor In April 2020, a Miami Police Sergeant generated controversy by handcuffing and detaining African American doctor Armen Henderson, who was assigned to treat homeless people for COVID-19, outside his home after receiving complaints that people were dumping trash in the area where he was working. Allegations soon surfaced that the matter in which Henderson was handcuffed and detained was in fact a case of
racial profiling. The Miami Police Department eventually agreed to launch an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the handcuffing and detention of Henderson. ==Organizational structure==