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When Florida Cops Punch First, They Say It’s For Safety Critics Question Tactic And Training

A drunk and unruly woman, being carried out of the stands at a University of Miami football game, weakly swipes at a burly Miami-Dade cop — who then hits her square in the face. A handcuffed suspect, standing toe-to-toe with another county officer, refuses to get into a patrol car and is slapped twice in the face.

A man refusing to leave a South Beach restaurant gets cold cocked by a Miami Beach police officer. The man, the cop claimed, was about to take a “fighting stance.”

Over the past couple years, each of these conflicts was caught on video clips that went viral, raising questions about whether police officers should have used brute force on people whose main offense appeared to be mouthing off to cops. In each case, the officers wound up facing no discipline.

To read more, visit our news partner at the Miami Herald

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David Ovalle/Miami Herald
LInda Robertson/Miami Herald
Charles Rabin/Miami Herald