FIU Study Aims to Find Out Why Few LGBT Hate Crimes Are Reported

Besiki Luka Kutateladze couldn’t believe the statistics: Between 2015 and 2016, the Miami-Dade Police Department — the country’s eighth-largest force — reported just one hate crime. Kutateladze’s interest in the numbers was both professional and personal. For years, he has led research on criminal justice issues. But he and his husband were considering moving from New York to Miami, and just months removed from the Pulse shootings, they wanted to know that they and their four young children would be accepted.

Somalis in South Florida Deported by ICE on “Slave Ship” File Class-Action Suit

In the early-morning hours of December 7, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Louisiana woke up 92 Somali detainees and shackled them by their wrists, waists, and ankles. The Somalis were then loaded onto a chartered airplane that was supposed to return them to Somalia. But then, for reasons the government has not yet explained, the plane landed in Dakar, Senegal. It sat on the ground for 23 hours and then headed back to the United States, landing in Miami.

Miami’s Ten Craziest Crime Stories of 2017

From long-lost cocaine lords found hiding in Orlando to steroid-slinging gym owners to a truly Satanic plot to robocall millions of phones with spam messages, 2017 ended up as a 1. FCC Fines Miami Man $120 Million for Making 96 Million Robocalls in Three Months Yesterday the Federal Communications Commission…

Miami Man in Jail for Weed Wins $730K After Losing Kidney

Pascual Diaz-Plasencia was arrested on misdemeanor drug possession charges June 29, 2012, after police caught him with less than 20 grams of marijuana. Diaz-Plasencia had recently undergone a kidney transplant and had to take a set of pills twice daily to ensure his body didn’t reject the organ.

Florida Men Who Filmed Themselves Abusing Sharks Finally Charged With Crimes

This past July, a group of young Florida bros filmed themselves dragging a live shark behind a boat until the poor thing disintegrated into a bloody pulp. The crew of numbskulls then sent the clip to Miami’s infamous shark hunter, Mark “the Shark” Quartiano, because they thought the famed fisherman would find the footage entertaining.

Miami Beach Police Hires New Captain of Detectives Facing Gender-Discrimination Lawsuit in New York

In August, a female police officer with the tiny Muttontown, New York police department sued the village and its police chief because she said she’d faced gender discrimination on the job. Jennifer Lavin’s suit alleged that after she was injured while handcuffing an emotionally disturbed person, Chief Phil Pulaski refused to grant her line-of-duty benefits or light duty and blamed her pregnancy for her pain.

Arrests of Undocumented Florida Immigrants Have Spiked by 75 Percent Under Trump

It wasn’t just media hype: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents really did ramp up their enforcement efforts during Donald Trump’s first year in office. According to year-end figures ICE released yesterday, the agency arrested 6,192 immigrants in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands this year — a 75 percent jump from last year, in which only 3,524 people were apprehended.

South Beach Classics Star Ted Vernon Indicted on Federal Gun Charge

On Velocity’s South Beach Classics, reality TV star Ted Vernon was known for his short temper and sharp tongue. But behind the scenes, employees and relatives of the Miami-based classic car dealer say he was actually straight-up abusive. In March, a Broward County judge issued a permanent restraining order to keep Vernon away from his estranged wife, who says he routinely beat her.