Two Miami Beach officers are no longer on the force after an investigation found they had sent hundreds of emails that included pornographic or racist images.
And prosecutors are looking into whether one of the officers broke the law by emailing an autopsy photo to colleagues or someone outside the agency.
Major Angel Vasquez retired last year and the second officer, Lieutenant Alex Carulo, was fired Thursday says Chief Dan Oates. The emails were sent using work and personal accounts.
The emails were sent to at least 14 other officers, says Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
Rundle says her office is reviewing hundreds of cases involving those officers.
“Our job and our commitment," she says, "is to ensure that we will do everything that we can to make sure that we do not prosecute cases that have been tainted by racial prejudice and racial insensitivity.”
The emails also included an autopsy photo. Rundle is investigating whether emailing the autopsy photo broke state law.
Vasquez emailed colleagues an autopsy photo of Raymond Herisse. Herisse was shot and killed by Miami Beach police while driving his car in 2011.
Rundle says releasing the photo could be a crime.
“In addition to it being a violation of Florida statute," she says, "it is, it’s just, so offensive to the family. But if we, in fact, find and prove that he violated -- the law was violated -- we’ll be filing charges.”
Carulo’s attorney says he’ll fight the firing.
