Miami Beach Police Accused of Assaulting Gay Man to Be Fired

Back in February 2010, I posted about Miami Beach police harassing and arresting a gay man after he witnessed them abusing a suspect. The gay man, Harold Strickland (pictured), was on the phone with 911 reporting their assault when the cops came after him. The ACLU filed suit against the Miami Beach police last November.

Now, the Miami Herald reports that the two officers involved are being fired:

Officers Frankly Forte and Eliut Hazzi learned Monday of the city’s intent to kick them off the police force and were relieved of duty without pay, according to City Manager Jorge Gonzalez. He said a hearing in which the officers will have a chance to fight for their jobs has been scheduled for Aug. 1.

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After a nearly year-long investigation, prosecutors also declined to press charges against Hazzi and Forte, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove the officers’ guilt to a jury. Instead, they suggested Miami Beach police take “appropriate action.”

Miami Beach police issued a statement Monday saying that although the “investigation concluded that no crime could be proven in relation to the officers’ actions, serious questions were raised about their conduct during the incident.”

While the criminal investigation is closed, the ACLU case is still on. Strickland is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.

Said ACLU spokesman Derek Newton of the firing: “It’s a very satisfying outcome, assuredly, to demonstrate clearly that officers who violate the public trust and engage in misconduct will be subject to consequences. We think that’s very positive and encouraging. We hope that it sets a standard for other communities in the region and state in addressing police misconduct.”

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Lady Gaga Impersonated by Evangelical Megachurch Worship Leader

Last weekend, a Lady Gaga impersonator whipped up a frenzy in Miami Beach while the real Gaga was celebrating her birthday in Vegas.

New York magazine posted a photo (above) sent out by the Guess boutique, which apparently couldn't tell the difference.

"It remains unclear if this alleged Lady Gaga went out looking like a normal American girl in an attempt to disguise herself and throw off her mobs of rabid fans, who, Guess says, were kept under control by five security guards while the store was shut down so that this normal-looking "Lady Gaga" could shop."

The NY Post's Page Six reported on the brouhaha:

The imposter rolled up to Big Pink restaurant with four SUVs and a security detail of 10. Once her security did a sweep, the blonde look-alike enjoyed breakfast. The poor man's Gaga then caused chaos at French Connection in South Beach, where, a spy said, "Salespeople flocked to assist her, even helping her try on clothes for 30 minutes. She was swarmed by fans screaming 'Happy Birthday!' " And Guess rep Alina Hauptman sent a breathless press release complete with a photo of faux Gaga at their Lincoln Road store, saying, "The crowd was getting so out of control that security needed to shut down the store so Lady Gaga could browse . . . [she] purchased the Lucy Lace Skirt."

My friend Bradley Carlson posted photos on Facebook of "Gaga" posing with fans at the Big Pink as her bodyguards looked on. Apparently she was telling everyone she was the real Gaga.

So who is she? 

The Miami New Times reveals that she is Amy N. Evans, a singer who has performed at the Evangelical Christian megachurch Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale, and the security firm was conducting a "training exercise".

"The girl that we used really does draw attention. You guys saw that on Sunday," says Bill Ferrell, president of ASI Consultants & Associates. "But at no time ever, ever, ever have we tried to portray her as Lady Gaga."

But this isn't the first time that Evans has been mistaken for Gaga. When it happened at a mall last year in Palm Beach Gardens, ASI bodyguards allegedly told people that Evans was, in fact, Gaga.

At the time, Ferrell apologized for the confusion.

I'm sure the real Gaga would be interested in the fact that she is being impersonated by a Christian wingnut and worship leader at an Evangelical megachurch.

Watch Evans perform at Fort Lauderdale's Calvary Chapel, AFTER THE JUMP...

ACLU Files Suit Against Miami Beach for Harassment of Gay Man

Back in February, I posted about Miami Beach police harassing and arresting a gay man after he witnessed them abusing a suspect. The gay man, Harold Strickland (pictured), was on the phone with 911 when the cops came after him.

The Miami Herald reported:

"A few seconds later, the line went dead. Strickland later told the ACLU that Forte and Hazzi grabbed his cellphone and disconnected the call. 'The officers then told Strickland: 'We know what you're doing here. We're sick of all the f---ing fags in the neighborhood.' The officers pushed Strickland to the ground and tied his hands behind his back,' [Robert F. Rosenwald Jr., director of the ACLU Florida's Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender Advocacy Project] wrote in an ACLU letter delivered Wednesday to Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower.' While Strickland was on the ground, the officers continued to spew anti-gay epithets. They called him a 'f---ing fag' and told him he was going to `get it good in jail.'' Bower and City Manager Jorge Gonzalez also declined to comment."

The ACLU, which originally announced its plan to file suit in February, has finally done so in federal court:

"Gay men have been reportedly targeted by Miami Beach police near Flamingo Park for decades. Often, police target gay men walking near Flamingo Park for nothing more than looking 'too gay'," said Robert Rosenwald, Director of the ACLU of Florida's LGBT Advocacy Project in a statement. "When police officers become the problem rather than the solution, the City needs to take action. Strickland fulfilled his civic duty by reporting what he recognized as police misconduct, but as a result he became the subject of verbal abuse and wrongful arrest."

Riptide writes: "While the suit only concerns the single incident, the ACLU claims it highlights disturbing trends in the Miami Beach Police Department of 'unlawfully targeting gay men for arrest without probable cause and harassing and arresting people who observe, document, and/or report police misconduct.

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And Today's Forecast for Miami is ... Sunny with a Chance of Oil

According to at least one model.

The New Times reports: "The latest updates to those forecast has oil from the Gulf spill showing up in Gulf Stream off the coast of Miami today...The way [Dr. Robert H. Weisberg, director of the University of South Florida Ocean Circulation Group in the school's College of Marine Science] explains an eddy has formed in the massive loop of oil still growing in the Gulf. 'If the loop reattaches with the eddy then it could mean a lot of oil for Miami. That is the reality,' he says. 'It all depends on whether the loop current reattaches and those things we can't really predict.' He says that the fact that more oil hasn't been spotted off the coast of Miami, considering it unique position so close to the Gulf Stream, has been pure good fortune."

Animation, AFTER THE JUMP...