Panel: Miami police thwarting inquiry into FTAA abuses

[Judi Lynn]

Panel: Miami police thwarting inquiry into FTAA abuses

By Ihosvani Rodriguez
Miami Bureau
Posted April 15 2005

An army of masked police officers cursed at protesters during the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting in 2003 and made fun of their body odor, complaints later filed by demonstrators said. They said police shot beanbags and tear gas at protesters, and labeled them anarchists, even though most came to peacefully express dissent of global trade policies.

But members of a Miami citizens' panel charged with investigating complaints of alleged police abuse said Thursday they might never know if such treatment was sanctioned by official Miami Police procedures.

The Civilian Investigative Panel complained to city commissioners on Thursday that police administrators are denying them access to the department's master plan for controlling crowds during the widely publicized meetings. Police arrested 234 protesters during the four-day event.

"We are being placed in a very unpleasant and difficult position," the panel's chairman, Larry Handfield, told city commissioners. "Without this key document, it's going to be difficult and chilling to complete the investigation."
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"Next to Elián, I think the FTAA meetings is probably the single most important issue in Miami in regards to how the rest of the world sees us," said Regalado. "In the big picture, will be judged by the FTAA decision."
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-sdftaa15apr15,0,6107785.story?coll=sfla-news-broward