News & Events » News Archive » 2001 Press Releases
Civil Rights Groups Respond to Firing of Jesse Aguero By Miami Police Department
July 11, 2001
MIAMI ? A team of civil rights groups today questioned why it took four years to fire Jesus "Jesse" Aguero from the Miami Police Department.
As investigations related to the excessive use of force continue to unfold, this latest incident serves as evidence of internal problems within an administration that may be too complacent about bringing bad cops to justice.
"The record in the Aguero case reveals the flaws and limitations of the system put in place to protect the public from bad cops," said Max Rameau of the Coalition Against Police Brutality and Harassment. "It not only takes too long to fire bad cops, but the standard of what constitutes a bad cop is out of touch with the community's standards of the kind of behavior we are willing to accept from those we employ."
In light of recent problems within the Miami Police Department, including public outcry about shootings, racial profiling, and other police misconduct, the team of community and civil rights groups, including the Coalition Against Police Brutality and Harassment, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), P.U.L.S.E., and the Miami Chapter of the NAACP have been working on a proposal to amend the Miami City Charter to create an independent civilian panel to investigate allegations of police misconduct and sanction officers found guilty of misconduct.
The Miami City Commission will discuss the proposal at a special meeting at 6 p.m. July 19th at Miami City Hall Chambers, 3500 Pan American Drive.
"Nothing more clearly demonstrates the need for independent civilian control of the Miami Police Department -- and the Department's inability to police itself -- than the fact that it took four years to separate an officer from service with the Department, despite the fact he had been the subject of 56 complaints," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida.
"The community and the media must refrain from falling into complacency with Aguero's firing," added Rameau of the Coalition Against Police Brutality. "There are still bad cops on the force, supervisors who refused to pursue officers engaged in criminal activity, and supervisors who actively participated in covering up those activities."
"If the Miami Police Department is concerned with reducing crime and putting criminals behind bars, it behooves them to begin by looking inward, purging their own ranks of the criminals with badges," Rameau added.
"Empowering a strong Civilian Investigative Panel will not only benefit the public, who can rely on a more objective system of examining police misconduct complaints but, ultimately, such a Panel would greatly benefit the police department itself," said Lida Rodriguez Taseff, President of the Greater Miami Chapter of the ACLU.
"With renewed confidence of the public, the department will have a mechanism in place to clear innocent officers and appropriately sanction officers found to have committed misconduct," Rodriguez-Taseff added.
"The end result will be less bad cops, the vindication of good cops and a safer general public."
