The Alert Newsletter Online

Department’s Crackdown on Intersection Takeovers Fuels State Senator’s Push for New Law

By Brian Ballou
An urgent solution was needed to address the frenetic pace of intersection takeovers and the dangers associated with them. Fights and shootings often broke out, and spectators were being struck and thrown through the air by out-of-control cars performing reckless stunts. The clamp-down of intersections byteenagers, using their cars as barriers to form an inner stage, prevented first responders from traveling through intersections to respond to 911 calls, posing a critical public safety threat.  
Over a dozen times, beginning in early 2022, the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) had pounced in to arrest drivers and organizers, and issue citations to spectators. The Department’s Media Relations Section distributed to the public press releases announcing the arrests. One of those press releases, detailing the arrests of two drivers who were part of an illegal street takeover in Miami Gardens on February 3, 2024, was read by State Senator Jason Pizzo in his address to the State Legislature on February 6, 2024, urging his fellow lawmakers to back a bill that would increase the penalties against those who organize and participate in illegal street takeovers.
“Those press releases provided the information needed to impart to my colleagues the urgency to act, and the dangers of what was happening,” said Senator Pizzo. “And this is something that is happening throughout the state, every week.”
Concurrent to MDPD’s increased enforcement over the past two years, law enforcement agencies throughout the state were beefing up their own responses. Lieutenant Michael Crabb, assigned to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Enforcement Section and Government/Legislative Affairs, saidthe prevalence of the takeovers can be traced to Hollywood movies glamorizing brash young drivers who push their cars to the edge for the adoration of spectators.
Lieutenant Crabb said one of the most egregious, and brazen,incidents occurred on April 3, 2023, when an Orange County Fire Department firetruck, responding to an emergency call at 1:02 a.m., for a car on fire, was trapped inside an illegal street takeover at the intersection of Sand Lake Road and Winegard Road. A 25-year-old man driving a Dodge Charger Hellcat, a vehicle that is preferred by many drivers, was circling the firetruck, preventing it from leaving the intersection. Several months after that incident, based on video footage, the driver, Elijah Grove-Thomas, was arrested. Grove-Thomas had a history of participating in street takeovers. 
Senator Pizzo wrote the first bill back in 2022 that specifically addressed street takeovers, making it a misdemeanor to perform dangerous stunts such as “burnouts,” “doughnuts,” and “drifting,” or organize such gatherings. Spectators also faced $65 fines. The new law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 6, 2024, goes into effect on July 1, 2024.  It was written by Lieutenant Crabb in collaboration with Senator Pizzo. The new law changes the offense to a felony for organizers and drivers, with a possible fine of $2,000. Additionally, there is a vehicle forfeiture provision.  Spectators still face a misdemeanor, but the fine increases to $400. A “coordinated street takeover,” according to the new law, “means 10 or more vehicles operated in an organized manner to effect a street takeover.”
The takeovers often pop up in the middle of heavily residential areas, and usually between midnight and 2 a.m., shaking residents from their slumber with the roar of engines, squealing tires, and loud crowds. According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, between 2018 and 2022, there were 6,641 citations issued for either street racing or stunt driving, and the typical age of participants and spectators ranged from 16 to 29.
“This is something that our Bureau has been combatting for the past three and a half years, so it does feel good to know that we are making a positive impact, not just in Miami-Dade County, but throughout the state, and this is something that is going to make the community safer,” said Lieutenant Jorge Audino, from the Department’s Homeland Security Bureau, which conductsenforcement efforts against illegal street takeovers. Officershave made dozens of arrests and have also confiscated numerousfirearms and illegal drugs.
During takeovers, spectators will use their cars to block the roads and essentially create a center stage, which they refer to as the “pit,” for drivers to perform stunts. The drivers seek “street cred” and the more daring their stunts, the more adulation they receive from the crowd. The spectators take videos of the stunts,that they later post on social media.
“This law is going to allow for greater inter-agency cooperation, and makes it more difficult for the individuals committing these crimes to get away with it,” Lieutenant Audino said. “Having Senator Pizzo sponsor the change to this law was something that motivates us to continue to work. We do this for the community.”
Three years ago, Senator Pizzo found himself trapped behind an illegal street takeover. He was returning home, with his Chief of Staff, from an awards ceremony in Orlando, when he was stuck behind at least twenty cars near the intersection of North Miami Avenue and 62 Street, in a residential neighborhood just north of Little Haiti. It was approximately 2 a.m., a time when there should have been little to no congestion.
Five minutes passed, and then 10, and still no movement. Senator Pizzo got out of the passenger’s side of the car to find out what was holding up traffic. He could see thick white smoke lifting from the intersection, illuminated by a circle of car lights, and he could hear the screeching of tires and cheering coming from the intersection. Senator Pizzo noticed that his car was parked right in front of the City of Miami Fire Station 9. If firefighters there had been called to an emergency, they would not have been able to leave the station because of the jam of vehicles.  The chaotic scene at the intersection lasted for about 30 minutes until police showed up and the crowd scattered into the night.
Senator Pizzo, incredulous at what he had witnessed, decided to utilize his legislative heft to create a new law addressing street takeovers. After the law passed in 2022, he started hearing feedback from law enforcement officials throughout his district, which encompasses Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, and throughout the state.  They told him that while the law helped, it was not effective enough to make a significant impact.
The Department’s Police Legal Bureau worked to get the issue in front of state lawmakers, and it was included among a list of priorities carried by the county’s lobbyists to Tallahassee earlier this year. The Bureau’s efforts buttressed those of other law enforcement agencies throughout the state, including the Florida Highway Patrol, to strengthen the law.
“It was so fabulous,” said Bureau Commander Janet Lewis. “It usually takes a couple of sessions to run it through Tallahassee and for it to get the traction to actually pass both houses, and get signed by the Governor, but this time it was easy,” she said.
Lieutenant Audino said the Department’s Homeland Security Bureau conducts its enforcement with the Department’s Robbery Intervention Detail, and its Priority Response Team, as well as City of Miami officers, and other local law enforcement agencies.  
Two cases stand out among the stack of the Department’s press releases.  In April 2023, officers with the Bureau arrested a teen who was organizing illegal street takeovers through an online chat room. In that chat, he suggested  to anyone attending to throw objects at police should they arrive and get out of their vehicles. He suggested that participants bring fireworks.
And on January 17, 2024, officers arrested Jose Martinez, a 32-year-old Miami man who had been organizing through his Instagram account, large-scale street takeovers since June 6, 2022. Many of his events drew hundreds of spectators and often resulted in violence. According to a Department incident report, “As a result of the defendant facilitating and coordinating illegal intersection takeovers, there has been a slew of aggravated rioting committed within the intersections where the defendant directed crowds to gather and commit criminal acts. During the course of these crimes, MDPD personnel responded to numerous calls to include triple shootings where innocent bystanders were shot, several aggravated battery on law enforcement officers, criminal mischief (burning of county roads and traffic light poles), fleeing and eluding, spectators jumping on marked police vehicles and numerous fireworks thrown at law enforcement personnel.”
Lieutenant Audino said the new law has the potential to become a deterrent. “Making it a felony is the biggest change, because it gives us more authority to go after subjects who cross jurisdictional boundaries. The forfeiture component is also big, because we were stopping people, but because the car belonged to their dad, and they hadn’t been convicted yet, we couldn’t start any forfeiture procedure.  That’s one thing we are excited to start trying . . . working with our Police legal bureau to see if we can start seizing cars in order to make the most significant impact possible.”
Both Lieutenant Audino, and Lieutenant Crabb said they were working on publicity campaigns to inform car club members, and the general public, about the changes in the law.
“We will release a video about the new law,” Lieutenant Crabb said. “We are not trying to be anti-car culture, and if you want to show off your car, we are not against that, but if you act stupid and do dangerous stuff, we will put you in jail.”
 
 

Retired Sergeants Return to Department as Investigative Specialists

Within the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Personnel Management Bureau, Ms. Dorothy Dorsett and Mr. James Dixon serve as Investigative Specialists. Their responsibility is to conduct thorough investigations into job applicants’ backgrounds, including their education, work history, and notably, their social media activity. This meticulous process aims to ensure that each applicant meets the Department’s stringent hiring standards.
Both Ms. Dorsett and Mr. Dixon have experienced this scrutiny firsthand twice, as applicants to the police academy, and later, after retirement, as candidates for their current roles. While it is common for professional staff to transition into becoming police officers, the reverse, where a police officer becomes a professional employee after retirement, is quite rare.
For Ms. Dorsett, reentering the workforce, after three years of retirement, gave her something meaningful to do, and reconnect with co-workers that she considers family. She also feelsuniquely positioned to offer advice to individuals who are about to enter the police academy.  “It’s really rewarding for me to process a police officer’s applicant file, because of my experience as a police officer,  I can impart some advice, having my background,” she said.
Ms. Dorsett started out in banking, as a bank teller and then a loan manager, and after almost 20 years, she decided to become a police officer and joined the Department. “I always admired police officers, I don’t have any law enforcement family members or anything like that, but I wanted to change. There was an officer who did off-duty security at the bank, and he suggested that I give it a try. As a loan manager, I wore the three-piece suit and heels, so definitely it was a big adjustment to become a police officer. But I can say that it was a field that I had always been interested in, so it was a good fit for me,” Ms. Dorsett said.
She retired in February 2017, with the rank of Sergeant, and then in June 2020, started working as an Investigative Specialist. “Being in law enforcement was my comfort zone, because I did it for 25 years, and working in this Department, I had a lot of pleasant memories, and that’s why I chose to come back. The people I knew from my time here, they have been very welcoming. As a police officer, I was around civilian personnela lot, I know that they support our officers, and that we need each other, so now working in this capacity, I’ve seen both sides, and that sense of comradery, of family, is still strong.”
Her co-worker, Mr. Dixon, joined the Department in September 1995. In the late 90’s, Mr. Dixon and Ms. Dorsett worked together, for three years, patrolling Carrol City for the Department. “Whoever thought that we would come back full circle, working together again after all those years?” Mr. Dixon said.
He said that growing up in Liberty City, he witnessed a lot of tension between police and his community, and lived through the “McDuffie Riots” and other incidents that drew widespread protests.  “I didn’t just read about it or see it in news, I actually lived it, the Miami-Dade Community went through terrible experiences, in its’ relationship with the police department. Changes needed to be made, and that’s what made me say ‘you know, I can do this.’”
He retired in January 2022, as a Sergeant.  He said he enjoyed his brief retirement, did a little traveling, spent time with his grandchildren, and did things around house. He had a part-time job as a security contractor for the U.S. Marshall’s service, in which he did court security.  But Mr. Dixon felt that he still had something to give back to the Department. He felt that he had more to offer, so he came back, first as a reserve officer in 2023, and then in January 2024, as an Investigative Specialist.
“I wanted to give back to young officers, tell them about how they should conduct themselves and understand the consequences of interactions with people, and how to stay safe, that’s what brought me back.”
“If you spent a lot of years in a place, you’ll develop a lot of friends. They’re always joking with me, saying stuff like ‘’wow, its noisy around here again, JD must be back,’” Mr. Dixon said.
 

Professional Staffer Has Been Longtime Football Coach, And Mentor to Young Men

Personnel Technician Hector Rodriguez’s life journey is one of unselfishness and compassion, rooted in his own experience growing up. As a  former high school football player who became a coach and mentor, he understands the challenges young men face and the importance of having positive role models in their lives.
During his years playing high school football, in the late 80’s, he would volunteer his time after practice to help coach a youth football team at a local park. Instead of heading straight home to eat and rest after practice, he would walk over to the park to teach 12 and 13-year-olds. The head coach of that youth football team was more than a mentor to him, he was like a father. 
“I wanted to give back to the program there, I think that was one of my callings early, because the guy who made a difference in my life, who I consider my dad, he was my first coach, he is still in my life, he was the person who first got me into coaching,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “My dad wasn’t around, so he filled that spot for me.”
Mr. Rodriguez learned a lot from the coach, not just about sports but about life, and those lessons he has applied to the a new generation of young men. After Mr. Rodriguez finished high school, he played football in college and then returned home, where he worked for the Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for seven years. During that time, he secured his first high school football coaching job, at Miami Christian High School.
One of his players was a kid that he had coached at the park. The student’s parents could not afford to keep up with the school’s tuition, so the student was in danger of having his enrollment dropped and losing his position with the team. After learning of the player’s situation, Mr. Rodriguez walked into the school’s headmaster’s office and requested that his coaching stipend be used to pay for the player’s tuition. The student eventually graduated, went to college, earned a degree, and is now gainfully employed.
 “One of the privileges that I have is when kids come back, and we don’t talk about football, we talk about life, marriages, kids,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “That’s where you see the coaching part really make a difference. I tell my kids even now at the high school level, that my relationship with them goes beyond football, you can pick up the phone and call me whenever you want, I tell them that all the time.”
Mr. Rodriguez has been an assistant coach for the Belen Jesuit Preparatory School varsity football team for the last nine years. During the season, weekends are for film study and coaching meetings to prepare for the next week’s practice. The game plans are then integrated into the week’s practice. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays the team practices in their full gear, and Thursdays they go through a light practice, walking through their plays to make sure that everyone has a full understanding. Fridays are game days, and then the cycle repeats. Mr. Rodriguez said his coaching duties take about 15-20 hours of his time every week during the season.
“I really enjoy coaching, and seeing how the players learn about life through football. That’s the most important thing,” Mr. Rodriguez said.  
   
By Brian Ballou

Midwest District Officer and Police Dispatcher Helping Homeless Woman

By Brian Ballou
Maria Garcia’s faded navy-blue 1999 Ford Econoline van is spacious, but it is packed with everything she owns, and there is hardly any room for her to sleep in it. The van has been her home for the past two years, after she lost her security job and could not afford to pay rent in her small apartment in the Fontainebleau neighborhood. She sleeps overnight in parking lots, and spends her days in a local park, where she has befriended a tiny squirrel she named Pepo, who likes to burrow in her lap.
Midwest District Officer Leo Cantave met Ms. Garcia in May 2023, during his rounds in the area with the Neighborhood Resource Unit. A week before Christmas, he saw her again. She was standing by her van, in a shopping center parking lot, and an elderly man was giving her van a jump start. Officer Cantave and Ms. Garcia chatted briefly, and during their conversation he asked her where she lives. Ms. Garcia, who is 60, responded, “Out of my van.” Once her van started, Officer Cantave led her to a local automotive store to buy her a new battery. On the way there, he stopped at a gas station to fill up her tank. At the store, the owner gave her a battery for free.
Later in the day, Officer Cantave was chatting with Police Dispatcher Nicole Sears, who works in the Department’s Communications Bureau. In her job, she relays details of emergency calls to responding officers. Officer Cantave got to know her, and many of the Police Dispatchers, because they work together so often. And he also knew that she and her coworkers in the Bureau have a long history of helping people in the community. The Department’s Dispatchers and Police Complaint Officers, who receive emergency calls directly from the public, have used their own funds to feed the homeless, and provide care packages containing food and clothing, to local families during holidays. They have hand-knitted caps and blankets for children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, they sent care packages to their counterparts in New York City.
Officer Cantave told Police Dispatcher Sears that he had run into a homeless woman who could use some help to get back on her feet.  Police Dispatcher Sears suggested that they start a GoFundMe account for Ms. Garcia, who was born in Cuba and emigrated to the U.S. at age 26. The account was set up on the day after Christmas. More than $1,000 came in, most of it from Officer Cantave and Police Dispatcher Sears and her cousin. It was enough money to provide Ms. Garcia with cash for groceries, gas, clothes, and renew her van registration. The money also paid for a post office box for six months so that Ms. Garcia could have a return address for job applications she was filling out, and towards renewing her security license so that she could get temporary jobs as a security guard at office buildings. Officer Cantave and Police Dispatcher Sears are also helping Ms. Garcia secure Section Eight housing for low-income and homeless individuals.
“I just love helping people, that’s my nature, and God blessed me, I have a good job that allow me to provide, and if I can help out somebody, then I’ll do it,” said Officer Cantave.
He and Police Dispatcher Sears recently visited Ms. Garcia at the park, and she gave both of them big hugs when she saw them.
“I love them, they are angels, they are my angels,” Ms. Garcia said. “They didn’t have to do what they did for me, I am so grateful for them. It’s hard when you don’t have a job or money. I cried so many times inside this van, alone.”
Police Dispatcher Sears said she is now looking into a way to establish a non-profit business, to create a way to help out other people in similar situations. “I’m really glad that we were able to help her out, and I asked my husband (MDPD Officer Andre Sears) what he thought about my creating a non-profit to benefit other homeless families, on a case-by-case basis, and he loved the idea, so that’s what I’m trying to put together now,” she said. She even has a tentative name for the organization- “Blue Hearts of South Florida.”
“We are both children of officers, and we are following the examples they set, to work hard, do our jobs the best we can, and be compassionate.”

Therapy Dogs are the Community’s Best Friends

In 2019, the Miami-Dade Police Department initiated a therapy dog pilot program, introducing “Sparky,” an irresistible American Bulldog mix, and Officer Julio Comas as his dedicated handler. Sparky quickly became a favorite within the Kendall District, captivating officers and civilians alike. The overwhelming positive response led to the expansion of the program in 2021, welcoming “Dottie,” a charming German Shorthaired Pointer mixed with Bluetick Coonhound, and her handler, Officer Alejandro Munoz, stationed at headquarters.
The program continued to grow with “Amanda,” a black Labrador Terrier Mix, becoming the first "legacy" dog in 2022, honoring the memory of Detective Amanda Lynn Haworth, who was killed in the line of duty in 2011. Canine Amanda’s handler is Officer Manuel Rodriguez. Somo, an English Springer Spaniel, and Evelyn, a yellow Labrador Retriever, joined in 2023. Their handlers, respectively, are Officer Rita Alvarado, and Officer Jody Rodriguez. The five dogs, five handlers, and supervisors, now comprise the Community Oriented Support Dog Unit.
Somo is named after Officer Jose Lazaro Somohano, who was killed in the line of duty in 2007. Evelyn is named after Officer Evelyn Gort, who was killed in the line of duty in 1993.
Police Reserve Officer Grace O’Donnell, a trailblazer in the Department's history, played a pivotal role in establishing the Unit. Her commitment to community support, coupled with her passion for therapy dogs, laid the foundation for this heartwarming initiative. She was the Department’s first Hispanic female Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Major. She was hired in 1974 and retired in 2010, but has remained connected to the Department since that time, as a reserve officer working with therapy dogs.
All of the dogs are rescue dogs from the Miami-Dade Animal Services Pet Adoption & Protection Center, and are selected based on their temperament. Rigorous training, spanning up to 10 months, ensures they meet American Kennel Club (AKC) Canine Good Citizen, and Therapy Dog Titles. The Canine Good Citizen training alone includes 10 obedience commands and is the first level certificate awarded for dog obedience. Among the 10 standards are sitting politely, accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, sitting down on cue, and coming when called.
The dogs also undergo certification by The Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD), done over a minimum of three observations by an ATD tester/observer. At least two of the visits have to be performed inside a medical facility such as a hospital or nursing home.
The dogs undergo evaluations in various environments, from busy malls to sports arenas, to ensure they can handle diverse stimuli.
Wearing vests identify them as therapy dogs during work hours, but after work, the vests come off and they are integral parts of their handlers' families at home.
The dogs' primary role is offering a "welcome distraction," exemplified during the Surfside Building Collapse, where Dottie and Sparky provided solace amidst grief outside that Town’s community center, the staging area for the families of the victims and surviving residents. As authorities worked with families on the identifications of victims and finding emergency accommodations, the dogs did provide that welcome distraction, just by their mere presence outside the entrance to the facility. Crowds gathered around the animals, petted them, and talked with their handlers. Children kneeled down next to the dogs, and stroked the tops of their heads. For those brief moments, the conversations veered away from the tragedy that was unfolding.
Dispatched to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and even the periphery of potentially dangerous situations, these therapy dogs bring comfort and relief. Beyond community outreach, they play essential roles within the Department's Psychological Services Section, contributing to the Peer Support Unit and the BOBS (Backing our Brothers and Sisters in Blue) team, symbolizing the commitment to mental health and wellness within the Department.

Brothers Who Grew Up in Law Enforcement Family Have Raised Over $130,000 For Officers in Need

On November 4, 2022, Homicide Bureau Detective Danny Morales and his brother, Northside District Sergeant Brandon Espinosa, founded a non-profit called Bleeding Blue Inc., and since then, they have donated $130,000 to 22 law enforcement families, raised through fundraisers such as 5-K runs, sports tournaments, prayer vigils, and t-shirt sales.
“We have a lot of events that are being planned as we speak,” said Detective Morales, 27, a six-year veteran of the Department, during a recent interview.  Both men come from families with legacies of police work. “My stepfather is a retired police officer, and my mom has to deal with three cops in her family, so she knows what it’s like,” Detective Morales said.
Years before they set up the non-profit, Sergeant Espinosa, 31, a ten-year veteran of the Department, realized that there was a dire need to help officers, especially those who sustain injuries outside of the line of duty, because they are not eligible for certain coverages.
“We get a lot of support in our fundraising efforts from our Homicide Bureau members, and from other law enforcement officers, and outside agencies,” Sergeant Espinosa said.
“When I was first promoted, more than four years ago, we had an officer in our district, Intracoastal, who had gotten into an accident off duty, I started asking around, to find out if there was anything that we could do to help out, so, I got together with my brother Danny and we made a challenge coin, and donated the money we raised through that to him and his family.”
Through the years, he and his brother would do small projects for other officers, but in 2022, when there were several incidents that befell officers in the Department, the brothers felt the need to bring some structure to their efforts to help out.
Officer Matthew Larsh was critically injured in a traffic crash in April 2022. He was driving his motorcycle heading to work when an SUV veered into his path. Four months later, 29-year old Detective Cesar “Echy” Echaverry was shot by a suspect on August 15, 2022, and died two days later.  Then in November 2022, Officer Damian Colon was shot in the head by a stalker, leaving him permanently disabled.  Echy and Officer Colon were close friends of the brothers.
“When Echy passed, we had our first organized campaign,” Sergeant Espinosa said. When Officer Colon was shot, the brothers did the necessary paperwork with the state of Florida and the Internal Revenue Service to create their non-profit. The expenses to organize the events are covered through donations, and the rest of the donations go directly to the families. The brothers, and their team, do not receive any money.
The Police Officer Assistance Trust (POAT) was founded in 1989 as a support organization for the law enforcement community of Miami-Dade County, and is a federally recognized charity that has raised millions in assistance for hundreds of officers and their families to “help offset financial burdens associated with illness, injury, disability, and death.” Bleeding Blue is independent of POAT. The brothers said that POAT does tremendous work that has benefitted hundreds of families, and is a much larger organization than theirs. They make sure that their fundraisers do not conflict with anything that POAT does, or any other organization, and they participate in that organization’s events.
“Giving credit where credit is due, they do amazing work. What differentiates us is that we have a platform because we are giving back to people who we work alongside, its very personal, and we can also fill in some of the areas where these other organizations can’t,” Detective Morales said. “The hours that go into it are insane, considering that we both have full-time jobs.”
In October 2023, Anthony Caabeiro, a 22-year-old rookie Hialeah officer, was killed in an off-duty motorcycle crash in Homestead, and that department immediately reached out to Bleeding Blue to ask for assistance for the officer’s family and funeral expenses. Bleeding Blue launched a t-shirt sale and sold over 550 shirts generating over $9,000 for the officer’s family.
They also created a memorial challenge coin and organized a bike night in collaboration with the Hialeah Police Department at a restaurant in Hialeah, where they raised money through raffles. That moved their donation amount up past $15,000.
“We come from a family of law enforcement, our stepdad, who raised us, was an officer in Hialeah for 30-plus years,” Sergeant Espinosa said. “So, we grew up in this world of the thin blue line, of taking care of the guy next to you, going to the police memorials and stuff like that, so now we are here on this side and we see the gaps that maybe some people don’t see, and you know, fall to the wayside,  so we just ask each other how can we fix this.”
For more information on the organization, please visit: www.bleedingblue.info
By Brian Ballou

Retired Miami-Dade Police Officer Recounts a Bygone Era, And His Brush With President Kennedy

Security was tight at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. President John F. Kennedy was in town and scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at a fundraising dinner for Senator George Smathers, inside the glitzy hotel, on March 10, 1962.
Miami-Dade Police officer Jack Kahn, a four-year veteran, had a day off, but he was called in by his supervisor because more security was needed for the perimeter of the hotel. Officer Kahn was assigned to a spot in the rear, near the kitchen entrance and close to the dumpsters. It was midday and hotter and muggier than usual for early Spring, even by South Florida standards. The stench of trash wafted in the air, and Officer Kahn’s uniform was saturated with sweat. After standing for several hours, he sat down on a sturdy milk crate to rest his legs.
A lengthy motorcade stopped near the kitchen service driveway, and President Kennedy, with his Secret Service contingent, emerged. Officer Kahn rose to his feet. The agents gathered around the President in a diamond formation, and they walked briskly towards the rear entrance, but as they passed the frazzled young officer, the charismatic young President stopped in front of him, and exclaimed, “You look like you just came out of the ocean!” The President then asked him if he needed a drink. When Officer Kahn answered yes, the President invited him to his suite. The air-conditioning was on full blast and Officer Kahn went from overheated to freezing as he gulped down a tall glass of water. As he drank, the president wrote on a piece of Fontainebleau stationary, “To my favorite Deputy Sheriff, thank you for taking care of me, your friend, President John F. Kennedy.”
The interaction was one of many colorful moments of Officer Kahn’s 12-year career that spanned from 1958 to 1970. Now 88 and living in suburban Chicago, Mr. Kahn recently reminisced about the bygone era, prior to the advent of high-tech, big data, and surveillance, that transformed policing and reshaped policies and procedures.
“Back then there were no forensics, and it was before Miranda rights, so things were done very differently than today, there is a lot more to the job now, officers have to use computers and there is a lot of technology in their work, stuff that didn’t exist when I was an officer,” Mr. Kahn said.
He said his most impactful case during his career was the bust of an armed robbery and burglary ring that expanded into Broward County. Seven men were arrested, responsible for over 10 armed robberies, including a bank, and 50 burglaries, and the theft of 75 cars. Mr. Kahn and several other officers worked for months to bring the perpetrators to justice. In the process, they spent hours interviewing victims and witnesses and following leads. It was gumshoe work at its best, a team of officers scouring scenes and comparing notes. “We got a nice letter from the Sheriff, and it was put in our personnel files.”
His career with the Department had an inauspicious start. He had not yet graduated from the police academy when he was plucked out of a training class to go undercover as an inmate. He was selected for the assignment because he grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and had that in common with a man who was arrested on murder charges and being held at the county jail. Officer Kahn was assigned to infiltrate and get the suspect to open up about committing the murders.
Such assignments are a thing of the past. Trainees are not considered for actual police work before they graduate from the academy, and even after graduation, they undergo additional training before being considered for any undercover work.
“My first day in, I didn’t just want to rush up, so I observed him,” Mr. Kahn said. “The next day, I was standing in line for breakfast, spotted him in line, and I sat next to him. He asked me what I was in for and I told him armed robbery. I asked him what he was in for and he said triple homicide, but also said he was going to beat it because they didn’t have any evidence. Then we started talking about Brooklyn, I told him I went to Madison High School and he said he went to Lincoln. There were several times I tried to push the conversation back to his case, but he wasn’t having it, didn’t say anything. I felt that he would never tell me anything, so later, I gave the word to the guards, and they got me out of there.”
And then there was the call for service involving a pelican in the road.
Officer Kahn was provided a new, unmarked 1959 Ford sedan for his patrols. The captain who assigned the car gave him one instruction- do not get a single scratch on the vehicle.  Officer Kahn set off on his shift, which started mid-day, at 3 p.m., and ended at 11 p.m.  His first call was a traffic jam on the A1A in Miami, near the beach. When he arrived on scene, he saw a pelican in the road. The bird appeared lifeless, but after he picked it up and placed it in the back of the sedan, the animal started fluttering wildly and defecating all over the upholstery. “The smell was a horrible, terrible stench,” Mr. Kahn said. “I went to a gas station later and tried to get the smell out with a hose and scrubbing, but that didn’t work. I had another call for a DUI, and the guy that was arrested refused to get in the back of the car because of the smell.”  The next day at the station,  the captain yelled at him and then suspended him for three days, but made him come in each day during his suspension to scrub down the inside of the car.  
“When I look back at my career, it was the best job that I ever had,” Mr. Kahn said. “I treated everyone the same, with respect, and it was rewarding to help people out.”
When he was six, he contracted Polio. The vaccine had not yet been developed. Doctors drained fluid from his spine, and he was put in an “iron lung” which stimulated his breathing. He recovered from the disease, but it did leave his right arm and right leg shorter than his left limbs. He said it miraculously gave him more strength in the affected arm, and it improved his throwing velocity for baseball.
“It was like a miracle,” he said.
He went into the Navy, at 17-years-old, forging his father’s signature. But after only three months, got an honorable discharge due to medical reasons- his elbow was giving him problems, likely related to his bout with polio as a child. He returned to New York to finish his senior year of high school. He stayed with his sister, because his parents had moved to Miami.
He also had a brief professional baseball career, playing right field for the Brooklyn Dodgers Rookies, the equivalent of a Major League Organization’s double-A team. Injuries continued to plague him, short-circuiting his career.
He then attended Ithaca College in New York, and while there, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, in 1955, at the end of the Korean War. He went to basic training, but after eight weeks, again received an honorable discharge. When he got out, he reunited with his parents in Miami. His mother suggested that he try the police department.
By Brian Ballou
 

South District Neighborhood Resource Officer Helps Young Girls Through Her Mentoring Program

The name of the mentoring group for girls ages 6-18 is “Polished Girls Empowered & Motivated Spiritually,” or simply Polished GEMS, and the members are divided into several age groups, each one named after a precious gemstone, such as ruby, emerald, diamond, and sapphire.
Since 2015, South District Neighborhood Resource Unit Officer Citia Easterling has been mentoring young girls, giving them advice to help them focus on their education, families and future, and to help them avoid some of the things that she experienced at their age, while growing up in South Miami. She has mentored more than 200 girls so far.
“I went through a lot of things, as an innocent child, and then as a high-school student, and it changed my life, but it also led me to a path to mentoring, to help young vulnerable girls,” Officer Easterling said.
When she was nine, a man known to her family exposed himself to her on two separate occasions and was subsequently arrested after she told her mother what happened. A police officer assigned to the case learned that she loved to collect baseball cards, so he would occasionally visit her to drop off baseball card packets. “That left me with a positive impression of police, and I started thinking about what it would be like to become a police officer,” Officer Easterling said.
She became a mother at the age of 17, and had to quit playing high school sports so that she could take care of her daughter and work, to earn money to pay for things that her child needed. Her entire life changed. She went from hanging out with her friends to having the responsibility of raising a child.
“It was almost as if we were growing up together,” Officer Easterling said.
After high school, she started working for the Florida Department of Corrections. She still wanted to become a police officer, but felt that gaining experience in the field of corrections would make her a better police officer.
In 2015, while she was still working for the Florida Department of Corrections, she started mentoring, based on something that her daughter told her.  “I remember clearly, one day my daughter telling me that I had a lot of wisdom and that I should help others, and that’s when I made the decision.”
She modeled her program after one that she had gone through as a girl. “When I was young, there was a thing in South Miami called the Afterschool House, where students from the University of Miami would go there and tutor us for free. That planted the idea, and I started writing out a plan.”
She advertised through social media, and organized a picnic at a local park as a sign-up event. Over 100 girls showed up. “We had a great turnout, and I had several friends who were helping out as mentors.”
In 2018, Officer Easterling made the decision to join the Miami-Dade Police Department, and enrolled in the academy. She was a member of Basic Law Enforcement Class #121. The rigors of the academy forced her to scale back on the mentoring program, and membership waned.
“But when I finished the academy and came here (South District), I started it back up,” Officer Easterling said. There are now about a dozen girls in the program. “We are helping these girls one at a time become better people, so that they can grow up and be highly successful.”
Polished GEMS hosts several annual events, including a backpack giveaway, Thanksgiving turkey baskets, Christmas toy drive, feeding the homeless, and breakfasts for the elderly. Additionally, Officer Easterling anonymously sponsors two families, with school uniforms and shoes. She also donates baskets to graduating high school seniors and helps students with prom expenses. 
South District Major Benny Solis said Officer Easterling is someone who truly cares about, and contributes to the community. “As an agency, we should strive to acknowledge the great things that our officers do, not just when they are on duty, but when they are off-duty, taking the time to serve the community, that should be showcased, and Officer Easterling is a shining example of that,” Major Solis said.
By Brian Ballou