A few dozen people showed up at a rally Tuesday to ask the state attorney to drop charges against some of those arrested during last November's Free Trade Area of the Americas conference.
More than 200 people were arrested during protests at the FTAA conference, but there have been no convictions. Now those involved want the charges dropped against 50 people who are still awaiting trial.
The group announced a noontime rally at the Metro Justice Building, but a relatively small number of people assembled. They are sending letters to State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and South Florida mayors asking that the charges be dropped.
An after-action report by the Miami-Dade Police Department that was released in February defended the actions of police, but did also acknowledge that some of those who were protesting may have been unintentionally injured. One journalist who was struck by a bean-bag bullet said that he received an apology from the police.
Court records indicate that a majority of the 238 arrests were misdemeanors, though 25 people were charged with felonies. In the case of most of the misdemeanor charges, no contest pleas were entered, so the charges were dropped.
Local 10's Michael Putney, who has been covering the FTAA conference and its aftermath, said one of the reasons that those charged may be pushing to have the charges dropped is because it is easier to pursue civil suits against police departments and officers if charges are dropped.
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