Two Miami Beach police officers are going to be fired after they were accused of screaming anti-gay slurs at a man, kicking, and falsely arresting him when he called authorities to report they were allegedly beating another man, city officials confirmed Monday.
City Commissioner Michael Gongora told The Miami Herald he was told by the city manager that the two officers, Frankly Forte and Eliut Hazzi, will be removed from the force, the newspaper reported.
“I was personally disgusted by the actions taken by them and have been pushing the city administration quite some time to commence termination proceedings,” Gongora told the newspaper.
City Manager Jorge Gonzalez said Monday that the two officers will have a hearing on Aug.1, where they will be told the reasons for their termination, and they can fight for their jobs.
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Miami Beach Police said termination proceedings have begun for the two officers, and they both have been relieved of duty without pay, effective immediately. Both have been with the department since February 2007.
Harold Strickland had said that about 1 a.m. March 13, 2009, he was in South Beach and saw two men beating another and kicking him in the head, the paper reported. He allegedly called 911 and realized that the two people were undercover officers.
Strickland spoke with the dispatch for almost five minutes and then he said the two men were going after him, the newspaper said. They were later identified as the two officers, the paper reported.
They allegedly approached Strickland and can be heard asking him why he was there, where he lives and his identification before the line went dead, the newspaper reported.
Strickland was arrested for loitering and prowling, but the charges were dropped, the newspaper said.
The man who Strickland says was being beaten was arrested as well, but charges were later dropped.
Prosecutors didn’t press charges against the officers, saying there was not enough evidence.
Instead they said the police department should take “appropriate action,” the newspaper reported.
After the criminal investigation was closed, they were assigned to administrative duty.
The ACLU also filed a complaint in federal court against Miami Beach and the two officers individually.
"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," ACLU spokesman Derek Newton told the Herald.
The officers' attorneys weren't immediately known.
