Justice Delayed…

Editor:

In a few days, we will be marking the third anniversary of a police riot in Miami Beach in which a motorist was killed and three others wounded when police unleashed a fusillade of 116 shots.  It was during Urban Beach Weekend in 2011 that a motorist ignored orders to pull over, nearly striking several officers and hitting barricades.  The police opened fire until the vehicle came to a stop and then continued firing into the vehicle.

Police would later claim that the motorist had fired first, mysteriously finding a gun three days later under the driver’s seat.  However, tests for gunpowder residue determined that the motorist had not fired a gun.  The general testimony by the police was contrary to the visual images shot by many bystanders using their cellphones and other devices, some of which were confiscated by the police.

There is a lot about the Miami Beach case that is very scary, not the least of which is that three years later the investigation is incomplete.  According to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office, the investigation “hopefully will be completed by the end of the summer.”  That is a common strategy in controversial cases, especially in instances where police are accused of improper, if not illegal, behavior.  Drag out the investigation interminably until most everyone has forgotten about it, witnesses have disappeared, evidence has been misplaced and so on.

Does any of this sound familiar?  Does the case of Charles Eimers come to mind?

The Blue Paper has done a superb job covering the Eimers case and it is imperative that that coverage continue.  You have already revealed questionable elements about the investigation as well as the case itself.  If we are not careful, the investigation will drag on and on and on….  Please stay on top of this case until it is resolved.