A red wave followed Floyd protests in Miami. But activists want to revive the movement Bianca Padró Ocasio, The Miami Herald
Apr. 22 Hours after a Minnesota jury convicted police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, a group of Miami organizers and activists who advocate against police brutality and anti-Blackness gathered at their monthly general meeting, where they d planned to discuss Florida s new anti-riot legislation.
But once the verdict came down a rare conviction of a police officer in the killing of an unarmed Black person local organizers with the Dream Defenders turned their attention to the historic decision, saying that Chauvin s conviction is reason to double down on the movement to shift resources away from police departments and pressure politicians who stand in their way.
Mar 04, 2021 By Gary Blankenship Senior Editor Top Stories
11th Circuit State Attorney, justice reform commission back the legislation
Katherine Fernandez Rundle
A grass-roots justice reform group begun by the 11th Circuit State Attorney’s Office is backing legislation calling for better training of police to de-escalate potentially violent confrontations and limiting the use of choke holds.
The Continuing Criminal Justice Reform Commission, set up by State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in December, has won sponsorship for the legislation (SB 1970 and HB 1513) from Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Miami, chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Miami, will be co-sponsoring.
Updated on November 13, 2020 at 9:47 am
Cellphone video, exclusively obtained by NBC 6 Investigators, shows Medley Police officers arresting Joshua Rodriguez inside his then home in January 2019.
The video begins when then Sergeant German Gutierrez puts Rodriguez in a chokehold while two other Medley Police officers try to restrain him.
While the department allowed the use of chokeholds at the time, like other law enforcement agencies in South Florida, it has since banned its use “except in authorized deadly force situations.”
“You guys don’t have a warrant,” Rodriguez, who is on his feet, can be heard saying - while an officer tells him, “Don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt.”