Blows against the empire

AP reports on June 3 that a draft report by a review panel established by the Miami-Dade (Florida)County Commission has accused police of "unrestrained and disproportionate use of force" against protestors whose civil rights were trampled during demonstrations against an international trade conference last November.

While offering the usual assurances that "the vast majority" of Miami-Dade County officers acted "in a professional manner under trying circumstances," the draft

offered "heartfelt apologies to the visitors who came to our city to peaceably voice their concerns, but who were met with closed fists instead of open arms."

The city's deployment of massive force against peaceful demonstrations became known as "the Miami model" and some saw even it as a "model for homeland defense." But in the words of Jorge Reynardus, the panel' chair, the report is

a comment on what we saw overall. And some of what we saw is shocking and deplorable.

The panel, unfortunately, has no power to act, but it can make recommendations about future policy.

The problem I see with these sorts of panels, welcome as this report is, is that they are always, if you will, after the fact, that is, always about reading the past and not about affecting the future. Abuses, violence, violations of rights, it's done and done and then we have reports laying out what was done and done and yet except under the most unusual and extreme circumstances there are no consequences to the guilty. Police departments are, rather, admonished to be more careful, more respectful, to not do it again, they gripe and complain that they're being treated unfairly and the investigators "don't understand that we risk our lives every day," a few policies supposedly get changed - and when the next time it happens all over again, we have more commissions, more reports, and more no consequences.

If it's actually going to change, there must be consequences. But as long as the guilty officers walk free, as long as the police chief and mayor remain at their posts, there are no consequences. And no consequences, ultimately, means no change.

The police, for their part, had no comment; undoubtedly they're checking with their PR experts first.