Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel is in charge of policing the police, but the 12-year-old agency is having internal problems. The panel is in charge of reviewing the Miami Police Department's use of force, especially in cases of high-profile police shootings.
“You have infighting among board members,” says Nadege Green, who has been covering this story for the Miami Herald. “You have accusations of racism and reverse racism from board members alleging that the executive director is a racist. ... It’s just become this big mess.”
The panel was once a national model for citizen oversight in part because it was the first group of its kind to have subpoena power in Florida.
The panel was created in the wake of several fatal shootings of black men in 2001. And current tensions have cast doubt on the board’s ability to handle similar cases today.
The Miami City Commission is expected talk about the panel at their meeting this Thursday.
