The North Miami Beach Police Department has caused public outrage. They were using mugshots of African American men for target practice at a Florida shooting range. A video of the the original story by NBC6 can be seen?below.
The mugshots were found strewn about on the range by a Florida National Guard unit. They were riddled with bullet holes. To make matters worse one of the photos was of National Guard Sgt. Valerie Deant’s brother, Woody, who was arrested in 2000 for participating in a street race. Needless to say, she was very upset to find a picture of her brother with bullet holes in it. Sgt Deant’s fellow soldiers were also outraged and comforted her. When speaking with the news media she asked:
?I was like why is my brother being used for target practice? There were like gunshots there. And I cried a couple of times.?
Shortly after, she contacted her brother and they reported the incident. The North Miami Police admitted to using the photos for target practice. However, Police Chief J. Scott Dennis claims the use of the mugshots was not motivated by racial profiling. I don’t know about you but that previous statement sent my bullsh*t detector off the charts. He even claimed that it was a crucial training exercise for facial recognition that was used widely by other agencies. However, NBC 6 asked other police agencies including the FBI and found that every agency asked use commercially produced targets. They do NOT use mugshots.
It should be very obvious that the Deant family found the chief’s response unacceptable. Woody served his time and repaid his debt to society . He was not happy that after moving on with his life his 15 year old mugshot was used. He responded:
“Now I’m being used as a target? I’m not even living that life according to how they portrayed me as. I’m a father. I’m a husband. I’m a career man. I work 9-to-5.?
The Deant family contacted attorney, Andell Brown. Brown found the practice of using human images as targets disturbing. Brown weighed in on the matter by saying,
?This can create a very dangerous situation. And it has been ingrained in your subconscious what does that mean when someone [police] comes across Woody or another person on the street and their decision-making process on using deadly force or not.?
Lastly, all I can say is yes, this creates a dangerous situation. Yes, this is racial profiling. Chief Dennis, you are full of sh*t. That is all.
H/T: Vera at?Addicting Info
