MIAMI LODGE

F R A T E R N A L thO R D E R O F P O L I C E
710 Southwest 12 Avenue. Miami, Florida 33130
Phone (305) 854-5019
Ortiz@fopmiami.com

Javier Ortiz

Thomas Reyes

PRESIDENT

SECRETARY
December 8, 2014

VIA EMAIL
Mr. Michael Putney, Reporter
C/O WPLG
3401 W Hallandale Beach Boulevard
Pembroke Park, FL 33023
Re: This Week In south Flordia: December 7, 2014
Dear Mr. Putney,
Several of our FOP members have contacted me in regards to your interview of Chief Manuel Orosa regarding the use of
force and some comments he made regarding the death of Eric Garner. We would like you to know that Chief Orosa's
statements do not reflect the views of the men and women that work the crime ridden streets within the City of Miami.
Chief Orosa's statement that he believes that New York police officers will most likely be indicted at the federal level has
absolutely no basis. It might sound good for the audience he may be trying to impress, but it is absolutely not true. If you
look at the history of civil rights crimes, the federal government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the police
officer, usually driven by racial prejudice, willfully acted violently in these cases with the evil purpose to deprive a
person of specific federal rights. Federal civil-rights cases are much harder to make than state homicide cases.
Some in our community are outraged with our criminal justice system. Fortunately for law enforcement, these cases are
being thoroughly reviewed (including all pieces of evidence) by a grand jury instead of by one individual. In our own police
department, Chief Orosa impulsively terminated one of our law enforcement officers who was involved in a shooting, only
to have the police officer fully reinstated after an arbitrator reviewed the case and made his decision based on all of the
evidence. When a police officer may have their freedom or career taken away from them, the decision should be based
on facts, not politics.
Chief Orosa loves to use the word transparency. He is attempting to introduce body cameras into the Miami Police
Department. President Obama has even jumped on the bandwagon of attempting to equip every law enforcement officer
with a body camera. Many people think this will fix relations with communities that don't trust the police. Others think that
it is a catch all approach to take bad cops down. For the most part, these are the same people that believe Eric Garner
was placed in a chokehold by police. If anything, the video assisted the grand jury in clearing the New York Police Officer.
The Miami FOP is not against cameras as long as there is a sound policy in place. What is of greater concern is the
enormous reoccurring expense in storing the data from these cameras (approximately five to seven million dollars a
year).
The Eric Garner case is tragic because he ended up dying after resisting police for such a petty offense. Glenna Milberg
capitalized on how selling loose cigarettes is such a minor crime. She is absolutely correct. However, whether you are
committing a forcible felony or a minor crime, everyone must respect the law. I respectfully disagree with her statement
that Mr. Garner was not resisting. Here are some reasons that clearly dispute her position:

Mr. Garner stated Every time you see me, you try to arrest me. Im tired of it. It stops today. This clearly is
resisting.
The video shows Mr. Garner actively swatting away the arms of a police officer seeking to take him into custody,
telling him: Dont touch me!
It wasn't as if he had no idea that he wasn't committing a crime. At the time of his death, Mr. Garner was out on
bail after being arrested for illegally selling cigarettes, driving without a license, marijuana possession and false
impersonation.
Once Mr. Garner was on the floor, he continued to resist by not placing his hands behind his back.

Chief Orosa's statement that the police should have done a leg sweep was also unreasonable. Mr. Garner is reported to
have been approximately 6'3 and weighed over 350 pounds. Based on the video, he was clearly much more powerful in
size and weight than the arresting officers. There was no way that a police officer is going to know the medical history of a
suspect before applying force. No one knew at the time that Mr. Garner was suffering from asthma and apparently had
cardiac problems. Imagine if a police officer would have used an electronic control device (like a Taser) to subdue the
suspect. There is a possibility that could have resulted in death too. Using a Taser in this instance would have been
warrented within the policies of the Miami Police Department. Chief Orosa also said he could have also been tackled.
Tackling Mr. Garner may have also caused him to not be able to breathe. We also feel that Mr. Garner was not placed in
a chokehold. The fact that he states eleven times that he can't breathe proves he was actually breathing.
Regardless, if Mr. Garner would have simply placed his hands behind his back (as police attempted to do in the beginning
of the arrest), no force (whether it was a taser, a leg sweep,etc.) would have been used and he would be alive today. Law
enforcement officers have a tough job ahead of them. In the future, we would appreciate that you would have a balanced
panel of members on your show, not just three individuals all with the same position.

Thank you,

Javier Ortiz
Sergeant Javier Ortiz, President
Miami Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #20

A Proud Tradition in Law Enforcement