Police (Benevolently) Knocking on Doors This Weekend in Overtown, Little Haiti, & Model City

Coming to your doorstep this weekend.

​It's no secret that cops aren't always welcome in some Miami neighborhoods. In Overtown, for example, the black community has been on-edge since last summer's police shooting of unarmed DeCarlos Moore. In the six months following, Miami PD killed six more black men -- most in Overtown, Little Haiti, or Model City -- adding fuel to the fire.

What is surprising, however, is the city's slow and bungled reaction to the shootings. Somehow, Exposito is still in office. Now, nearly a year after Moore was shot during a traffic stop, the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association (MCPBA) will be knocking on doors this weekend to survey residents of the three communities on the quality of "police services."

The fact that they have to warn people before conducting a survey shows the depth of distrust.

The MCPBA announced the survey in an email sent out yesterday afternoon. The announcement acknowledged the neighborhoods' "strained relationship with police" and says the survey will "help the City of Miami Police Department strengthen its relationship with the community."

It comes less than two weeks after Miami police officer and Fraternal Order of Police vice president Javier Ortiz admitted to doctoring a mugshot to make a black man look like a devil. The man in the mugshot, Durrall Miller, was killed by Miami-Dade police in Miami Lakes several days after he shot at two officers, wounding one.

Commissioner Richard Dunn called the mugshot "racist" and "unacceptable."

Here is the announcement of MCPBA's survey, which will take place this weekend and next weekend:

If you live in Miami's Model City, Little Haiti, Overtown, or West Coconut Grove neighborhoods, members of the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association (MCPBA) just might come knocking at your door this weekend or the next. Their purpose is a simple one. They want to know what you think of police services in your neighborhood and how those services can be improved upon.

In an attempt to assist in the improvement of police services in neighborhoods that have traditionally had a strained relationship with police, the MCPBA will be conducting a series of surveys starting at 10:00 AM, on Saturday, May 14, 2011, in Model City and Little Haiti, and continuing on Saturday, May 28, 2011, in Overtown and West Coconut Grove. With surveys in hand, members of the organization will fan out and knock on doors. The responses will remain completely anonymous and all recommendations will be considered as the MCPBA formulates a plan to help the City of Miami Police Department strengthen its relationship with the community and improve the services it provides.

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