Formed 1955 Headquarters Miramar, Florida | Legal jurisdiction Municipal Sworn members 199 | |
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency General nature Law enforcement
Civilian agency | ||
The Miramar Police Department is a municipal police agency responsible for law enforcement within the city of Miramar, Florida. The department is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation. The current police chief is Ray Black.
The Miramar Police Department headquarters is in a strip mall. In 2005, a hurricane damaged their old building and the city has had difficulty finding a suitable replacement.
Misconduct
In 1983 Officers William Mantesta and George Pierson arrested a man with mental impairments for rape and murder. The officers forced a false confession from the man and hid from the court evidence that the man was innocent. The state sought the death penalty but instead he was sentenced to life in confinement. He was released after serving 26 years behind bars. In 2013 a federal court found the two officers liable for their actions and in 2015 the man was awarded $7 million in a suit against the two.The two officers, now retired, were never convicted of any crime and deny responsibility. The city and the department deny responsibility and are seeking a means of appeal.
In 2010, Officer Jean Paul Jacobi used keys he had taken from a suspect to conduct an illegal search of his home. Officer Jacobi was convicted of trespass in 2011. He was sentenced to probation.
In January 2012, Captain Juan De Los Rios forced an underaged girl to strip when he stopped her and her boyfriend. He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 4 years in prison.