By Elaine Magliaro
NBC Miami reported on Friday that a family from South Florida was “outraged at North Miami Beach Police after mug shots of African American men were used at a shooting range for police training.” Huffington Post said that the police officers drew fire after they got caught “using photos of real-life suspects for target practice.”
Last month, National Guard Sgt. Valerie Deant and her fellow soldiers went to a firing range in Medley, Florida. NBC Miami said that Deant and her fellow soldiers were at the shooting range “for their annual weapons qualifications training.”
NBC Miami:
What the soldiers discovered when they entered the range made them angry: mug shots of African American men apparently used as targets by North Miami Beach Police snipers, who had used the range before the guardsmen.
The mug shots were riddled with bullets. One of the mug shots was of Deant’s brother, Woody. The mug shot had been taken fifteen years ago after he had been arrested in connection to a drag race in 2000 that left two people dead. Valerie Deant asked, “I was like ‘why is my brother being used for target practice?'”
Deant’s family “called out the department for discriminating against Woody Deant, who was arrested at 18 for drag racing…” Deant served four years in prison. He told NBC Miami, “I’m not even living that life according to how they portrayed me as. I’m a father. I’m a husband. I’m a career man. I work 9 to 5.”
According to NBC Miami, North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis admitted that his officers could have used better judgment, but denied that there was any racial profiling at play. He also noted that the department’s sniper team included minority officers.
Rachelle Bildner (New York Daily News) reported that Dennis “initially defended using the photos for being ‘vital for facial recognition drills’ and said police used pictures of people of all races and sexes for practice, not just African-Americans.” Dennis said, “Our policies were not violated. There is no discipline forthcoming for the individuals who were involved with this.” Bildner noted that the “program underscored growing tensions between police and the Florida African-American community.”
Reuters reported that the incident at the shooting range had “struck a nerve in south Florida, where police departments have faced criticism over shootings and treating suspects harshly.” Muhammed Malik, a member of the Miami Committee on State Violence, said, “We see this act as a symptom of a larger systemic issue that devalues black and brown lives.”
The Miami Herald reported that using photo lineups for target practice didn’t appear “to be a common practice among local police departments. Miami-Dade, the county’s largest force, doesn’t do it; nor does Miami or Miami Beach.”
Miami Herald:
Late Friday, the city responded to the public outcry over the sniper target shooting story. A mass email was sent to media outlets with photos of other targets used by the city’s two snipers. Among them: A photo of Osama Bin Laden, and another of a man holding a gun to woman’s head.
In a five paragraph statement Dennis said the department realizes how, taken out of context, the photo of the six black males in the photo lineup may appear to be offensive.
“For that reason,” Dennis said, “I immediately suspend the sniper training program as we conduct a thorough review of our training process and materials, ordered commercially produced training images, and opened an investigation into the matter.”
Reuters also said that only two of the department’s 95 officers were snipers.
SOURCES
North Miami Beach Police Use Mug Shots Of African-Americans For Target Practice (Huffington Post)
Family Outraged After North Miami Beach Police Use Mug Shots as Shooting Targets (NBC Miami)
Florida Police Department Used Black Mug Shots For Target Practice (NPR)
Miami police chief suspends sniper program using mug shots as target practice (New York Daily News)
Police chief suspends training program after outcry over use of black men’s mugshots for target practice (Miami Herald)
Outrage after south Florida police use black mugshots as targets (Reuters)
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“In a five paragraph statement Dennis said the department realizes how, taken out of context, the photo of the six black males in the photo lineup may appear to be offensive.” – from article posted
How exactly were the photos taken out of context? The pictures were all of black men. They were all used as targets on a shooting range. They were all riddled with bullet holes. The complaint is well within the context of the incident. The fact that the Police Chief doesn’t see that is dangerous to the community for it denotes that the dehumanization of black men starts at the top of the police command structure. And the fact that this claim was put forth in a mass emailing to said community denotes a wilful ignorance that can not be overcome.
Well it was another “honest mistake”, Blouise.
The responsible officers thought that no one would find out what they were doing.
They were mistaken.
The Miami Herald reported that using photo lineups for target practice didn’t appear “to be a common practice among local police departments. Miami-Dade, the county’s largest force, doesn’t do it; nor does Miami or Miami Beach.”
Right, like they’re going to admit it. If the cops shoot one of these guys would this show premeditation?
Right on, blouise.
Disgusting.
It’s better than shooting real people. Would this be an issue if they were white felons. Of course not. Seems like you people here hate police. My brother was a LEO in MA. A great man and officer. You lump all police in with the few bad. Bigots.
“Would this be an issue if they were white felons. Of course not.”
That would be your assumption to make. It would be a wrong one, but you are entitled to be as wrong as you like.
“Seems like you people here hate police.”
Really? And you base that upon what? Criticism of the bad cops that make the good cops job that much more difficult? Not only an assumption, but a hasty and sweeping generalization.
“My brother was a LEO in MA. A great man and officer. ”
Good for him. Not relevant to the argument though.
“You lump all police in with the few bad.”
Again with the hasty and sweeping generalization. Bad cops do get criticized here. Vociferously and frequently. Due in no small part to . . . wait for it . . . they make the good cops job that much more difficult and are usually infringing upon some citizens Constitutional and/or human rights in the process when not committing outright crimes.
“Bigots.”
Really. Do you even know what the word means? Let me help you with that. According to OED:
bigot /ˈbɪɡət/ n., A person who is intolerant towards those holding different opinions.
Well . . . you have a different opinion (as do others who post here) and you’ve been shown tolerance despite your mostly ad hominem slurs against those who post on this site, slurs that are not based in the reality of what gets posted here but rather upon your assumptions.
You know what they say about assumptions.
Or maybe not.
But just to be clear, you are just trying to besmirch those posting here critical of cops and not supporting cops who would use photos of U.S. citizens for target practice (regardless of their color)? Correct? It’s so hard to tell through all of your self-righteous indignation and poor vocabulary skills just what you are trying to get at.
Or not.
tony,
Speaking for myself–as one of the people here–my husband and I have/have had police officers in our family and friends in law enforcement here in Massachusetts. They are/were good cops–not bigots or racists. I can’t imagine any one of them beating a suspect. I have also known a couple of bad cops–one who went to prison for intimidating a witness and one who went to prison for selling cocaine.
tony bucco,
If I gave you 10 different puns in hopes that one of the 10 puns would make you laugh, it would be no surprise that no pun in ten did.
Being able to read is good, comprehending what you’ve read is better
Using outlines or images that didn’t suggest skin color or racial characteristics would work just as well and wouldn’t imprint images suggesting real people or people who looked like the images in one way or another. Such paper targets are readily available.
Such paper targets are readily available. – bettykath
And there’s the rub. Why chose pictures of real humans when the other is so readily available? Why chose those particular pictures? Those are the questions the Police Chief shrugs off.
WAHHHH WAHHHH WAHHHH, F’ babies
Looks like someone wandered over from that other place.
GOOD BLACK NEWS
Your Source For The Good Things Black People Do, Give and Receive All Over The World
“Regina Wilson Chosen as 1st Female President of 75 Year-Old Vulcan Society of Black Firefighters’
http://goodblacknews.org/tag/president-of-vulcan-society-of-black-firefighters/
“‘ow do ya know ‘e’s from the otha place?”
“‘e’s go’ shi’ on ‘im.”
Keith, fuck you.
Go back there, and tell ’em I sent you.
Vulcans have firefighters?
Bob K.,
They mastered warp drive and interstellar travel so I’m pretty sure they got fire. 😛
Wonder what the charges would be if someone was using pictures of his officers for target practice.
“Bob Kauten says:
January 19, 2015 at 6:29 pm
Vulcans have firefighters?”
“HISTORY OF THE VULCAN SOCIETY
Wesley Williams was the third black male to join the New York Fire Department. The first was William H. Nicholson who was appointed in 1898 and shortly after detailed to the veterinary unit. He retired in 1912. The second was John H. Woodson, 1914 – 1936, assigned to L-106 in Brooklyn. Wesley was appointed January 10, 1919 and assigned to Engine 55 in Manhattan. This was at a time when discrimination and segregation were the rule. The day young Wesley entered the company, the captain took a roll call, thanked the men for their support and left. He retired from the Fire Department the same day because he did not want the stigma of a Black man in his company. All of the men requested transfers so they would not be forced to work with a Negro or colored man. Fire Department officials imposed a one year moratorium on transfers in hope that the men would adjust to Wesley. He endured discrimination at its worse. Among the many instances, they would not speak to him and tried to get him to sleep in a bed in the cellar. They said they would speak to him if he slept in the cellar. He refused. When he went upstairs to the bunks, they went down stairs. He proved himself by showing how tough he was at fires and whipping butt in the cellar when they challenged him. Williams was promoted to Lieutenant in 1927, Captain in 1934 and Battalion Chief in 1938. By 1940 there were 40 Black men in the Fire Department, all facing similar problems. Chief Williams suggested the men organize. The Vulcan Society was born. In 1944 the Vulcan Society forced a public hearing before the City Council to expose some of the segregated practices. As a result, a clause was passed in the regulations banning racial practices in the Fire Department. Wesley Williams never held office in the Vulcan Society but was the spirited force behind the Society. The Vulcan Society was the first organization to purchase lifetime membership in the NAACP. Wesley Williams died at 86 years on July 3rd, 1984. Sculptress Tina Alan created a bronze statue of Chief Williams and it was presented at a ceremony marking Chief Wesley Williams Day at the Harlem WMCA on April 28th, 1990
The source of much of the above information was from a speech by Charles F. Williams, grandson of Chief Wesley Williams given at the Fire Department Museum during Black History Week on February 5th, 1990”
http://www.vulcansocietyfdny.org/History.html
pete
Why don’t we suggest that since the pictures don’t mean anything, that from now on the only picture the officers can use are of their Chief.
blouise,
“Why don’t we suggest that since the pictures don’t mean anything, that from now on the only picture the officers can use are of their Chief.”
Good idea. And if they’re not willing to do this there are many pictures of, “towel heads,” aka, “sand niggers,” that could be used in their place.
What’s in a picture, really?!!!
Everybody is somebody’s child. Perhaps we could suggest the officers use picures of their own kids for target practice. Any bets on how that would go over?
Eniobob,
Just another of the millions of stories of how Black people in this country had to do better than their white colleagues just to do a job. Yet there are insensate morons in this country who sincerely believe that their “White Rights” are being encroached on.
“What’s in a picture, really?!!!”
We already have studies that demonstrate that unconscious racism influences choices that test subjects make in shooting. Of course there is the question of how accurately these test reflect choices made in a real incident.
Nevertheless, I think it is very reasonable to wonder if training with images that resemble African Americans influences or conditions choices made by officers? At least in a test situation it should not be hard to demonstrate or refute the effect.
Hmmm … I wonder if theories could be tested through a class action law suit.
Pete, “Wonder what the charges would be if someone was using pictures of his officers for target practice.”
🙂 Lots of good ideas for alternatives to help the officers and the chief see the folly of their ignorance.
Nice speech
Good observation.