by SemDemFollow for DKos Florida
Daily Kos group
Nov 30, 2013
#37 for My Stupid State series....
Earl Sampson has been stopped and questioned by Miami Gardens police 258 times in 4 years, on average more than once a week. He has been arrested 62 times for trespassing: at the store he WORKS AT!
The store's owner, Alex Saleh, had enough of the racial profiling of his employees and customers. He installed 15 surveillance cameras--not to protect from criminals (he has never been robbed) but because of the non-stop harassment of Sampson and others. The video below shows just one instance: Earl Sampson is taking out the garbage, and as soon as he goes back in the store, he is pulled out forcibly by the cop and arrested for trespassing.
(If you can't see the embedded video, the Miami Herald has a series of them here.)
Even though the store owner is there and repeatedly tells the cops he is an employee, they arrest him anyway.
I said, 'I'm the owner, let him go. I work here.' The officer said, 'Yeah right.'
Most of us have never been stopped and searched by police, let alone hundreds of times. Miami Gardens Police Chief Matthew Boyd needs to be fired. There is no way he didn't know about this. The cops need to be fired and sued. I am glad the store owner and his attorneys are filing a civil suit. Being a former cop myself, this type of behavior fills me with rage. They are harassing the very people they need to be protecting.
The store owner is a brave man for standing up for the rights of his customers and employees. According to the Huffington Post, he has been repeatedly threatened and harassed by the Miami Gardens PD since this story broke.
I know there are some in my state who would disagree with me, but the fact of the matter is being a minority is not a crime. Even if you are from Florida.
12:58 PM PT: Local News Report:
6:38 PM PT: The police chief will be stepping down
Originally posted to DKos Florida on Sat Nov 30, 2013 at 12:31 PM PST. Also republished by Police Accountability Group.
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