The Miami Police Department admitted minor mistakes were made during November's free-trade meeting but called the event an ''overall success'' in an internal review released Wednesday.
The department coordinated security efforts of 39 agencies during the Free Trade Area of the Americas ministerial meeting. The report, a summary of a two-month study, lauded the overall response to protests but noted that two problems -- involving other agencies -- should be avoided in the future.
Some law enforcement agencies wore riot gear when there were no disturbances, the report said. And it said efforts to work as one entity occasionally failed, including when a Miami Beach police officer used tear gas although the public had been assured it would not be used.
But otherwise, the 66-page report is a pat on the back from a department that has been accused of heavy-handed tactics during the weeklong deployment.
''The people and businesses of Miami faced a minimum of inconvenience with resiliency and good humor,'' the report concluded. ``Those who came to commit violence faced an intelligent, measured police plan determined to minimize the effect of their criminal tactics.''
Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, president of the Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, disputed the report's findings, calling it a ``police whitewash.''
'[In the report], all the responsibility falls on the protesters, or people who they call `violent mobs,' '' Rodriguez-Taseff said. ``But they weren't the ones shooting people in the head.''
THOROUGH INQUIRY
Deputy Chief Frank Fernandez said the department did a thorough investigation. Officials not only looked into complaints the department received but also culled allegations from news reports and investigated them, he said.
''If she has specific concerns of people being hit in the head, have them come forward,'' he said. ``We're willing to investigate that.''
The department is investigating the case of Carl Kesser, a documentary filmmaker who was hit in the head by a beanbag, Fernandez said.
The report was released on the eve of its presentation before Miami's Civilian Investigative Panel, an independent agency that will probe whether officers used excessive force or violated free speech during the protests.
COMMUNICATION ISSUES
Though the summary notes two small coordination issues, it does not mention other communication problems that field commanders cited in their reports.
The most serious concern reported by a field commander was miscommunication between the Miami Police Department and the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Miami-Dade had its own command center, separate from the Miami-coordinated command of the other 39 agencies.
COPTER GLITCH
But on Nov. 18, two days before the main meeting, Miami officers were forced to ground their helicopter because Miami-Dade had a helicopter in the cramped airspace over downtown, according to a memo by Sgt. James Billberry.
''The actions by the Miami-Dade Police Department appeared to have been premeditated,'' Billberry wrote, noting that the county police had a landing zone inside the area that had previously been assigned to Miami to control.
Miami-Dade Assistant Director Robert Parker said he was aware of the problem with the helicopters.
''I know that it was a miscommunication in terms of the understanding of the original agreement and I know it was worked out,'' he said.
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