4 fatal Miami police shootings in 6 weeks

One cop said that although they’ve had four shootings in a month and a half, they may now go 10 months without firing a weapon. “That’s the nature of our job,” he said.

August 23, 2010 04:33 AM

By Charles Rabin and Jennifer Lebovich
Miami Herald

MIAMI, Fla. — Since early July, Miami police have been involved in four fatal shootings in the inner city, a deadly volley surpassing the total for all of last year.

From Overtown to Little Haiti, shooting scenes have given way to sudden memorials, candlelight vigils and funerals in a community that struggles to balance a complicated relationship with the police.

Though it’s too soon to tell if the shootings were justified, the cluster of fatalities has many people in Overtown, Little Haiti, and Liberty City on edge, and some wonder if police under new Chief Miguel Exposito have become overly aggressive.