Miami's Civilian Investigative Panel issued a report Thursday -- but not the one for which city leaders and the public have been waiting a year and a half.
Instead, the status report from the voter-created CIP doled out blame for why it can't wrap up its long-awaited analysis of how city police handled protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas in 2003. The blame was laid firmly at the feet of the Miami Police Department.
During the FTAA summit, fear of widespread riots prompted an unprecedented number of police officers -- more than 2,500 -- to patrol the streets of downtown Miami. The city emerged largely unscathed, but its police department has since been dogged by accusations of heavy-handed, unconstitutional crowd-control tactics.
Had police been more cooperative with the CIP, its FTAA report ''would have been finished, without a doubt,'' CIP Chairman Larry Handfield told The Herald, saying he now hopes to complete the document by the end of the year. Handfield's comments came just after he had finished presenting his case to Miami city commissioners, detailing how one dispute between the CIP and police became so pronounced it ended up in court, and is still unresolved.
That issue involved whether the CIP could examine the police department's operational plan for the FTAA event. Handfield argued that the plan is essential to determining whether the police response to anti-FTAA protesters was appropriate.
The police department has insisted that the document is exempt from public records laws, and would compromise local security if released. A circuit court judge ordered the department to turn over the plan, but Miami police are now appealing that decision.
Miami Police Chief John Timoney, speaking to commissioners Thursday, defended the court battle and his department's relationship with the CIP.
''Whatever they need, they get,'' Timoney said. He then hinted the department may not have always answered records requests as quickly as the CIP would have liked, saying, ``we are the police department. We get hundreds of requests -- literally -- every week.''
That second comment didn't go over well with some commissioners.
''That should not be an excuse,'' Commissioner Angel Gonzalez said. ``Let's look for the resources.''
The court battle over releasing the operational plan also brought some criticism from commissioners, who cited the inevitable delays it has caused.
Commissioners debated forcing the police department to hand over the disputed document. For now, though, they opted to let the department's legal appeal continue.
''Both parties have rights, and I strongly feel that this legislative body should not interfere in that process,'' City Commission Chairman Joe Sanchez said.
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