MIAMI -- Controversy over police handling of free-trade protest in Miami continues three years later, now spilling into the race for governor of Florida.
Labor unions and others who protested when the Free Trade Area of the Americas met in Miami in 2003 said it is outrageous that no one has ever been held accountable for what they called wholesale violations of civil rights.
Independent reviews found that while most officers were professional in controlling the protest, there was some police misconduct and illegal arrests of protesters.
Groups involved in the protest said Miami's police chief should be held accountable and that Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, who is now running for governor, should get on the case.
Union carpenter James Taylor is among many union members who claim they were roughed up or arrested during a peaceful protest. Some who claimed they were hurt by police during the demonstrations, such as Carl Kesser, sued. The city settled.
But protesters want Miami Police Chief John Timoney charged with civil rights violations.
"He was the orchestrator. He was the architect of this plan suppressing people's rights," said Fred Frost of the South Florida AFL-CIO.
Protesters claimed that Timoney followed the same method of operation he had drawn up when he was police chief in Philadelphia, rounding up protesters at the Republican convention.
Protesters pointed out that just four of 219 FTAA-related arrests led to convictions. Most cases were dropped by prosecutors or dismissed by judges.
But Miami Mayor Manny Diaz called the allegations "ridiculous."
"There was no criminal conspiracy," Diaz said.
Diaz said police have admitted that their handling of the FTAA protest was imperfect, but denied that Timoney led any plot to tromp on demonstrators' civil rights.
Federal officials concluded that there were no prosecutable civil rights violations.
Protestors complained that the state, meaning Crist, should have investigated.
"One person only that's standing in the way of justice today, and sorry, Charlie, that's you," said Tony Fransetta of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans.
The AFL-CIO and other groups have endorsed Crist's opponent in the race for governor, Rep. Jim Davis.
Crist's office said it only received a letter demanding an investigation a few days ago, although it was dated Sept. 29.
Protesters claimed that Crist ignored their plight for years, but now touts his civil rights record on the campaign trail. They want Crist to examine what the city's independent review panel could not get: a copy of the Miami Police Department's operational plan.
"Making an analysis without looking at the operational plan is like trying to understand what happened in a plane crash without the black box -- you just can't do it," said Eric Rubin of the Florida Fair Trade Coalition.
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