And the Random Pixels award for the most asinine statement of the week ....

Juan Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department.
Photo by Doug Hanks / Miami Herald.

....goes to the Miami-Dade Police Department's new Director Juan Perez.

Via the Miami Herald:

Miami-Dade commissioners easily approved one of the largest body-camera purchases in the country on Tuesday, authorizing up to 1,500 video devices for the county police force.

In a 12-0 vote, commissioners gave the green light to spending $1 million a year on the wearable cameras and the costly storage that comes with them. County policy will require officers to film most encounters with the public.
[...]
By the end of September, about 1,200 cameras should be in use, said department director Juan Perez. He described the cameras as a countermeasure to civilian cellphone footage, which he suggested can given an incomplete look at high-profile police incidents.

“It will tell a better story for us,” Perez said of the footage, most of which would be considered public records under Florida’s Sunshine laws. “That way, we won’t be focused just on the five seconds someone films of an incident. We’ll have the entire incident.”

But a little further down in the Herald article, Director Perez drops this bombshell:

Perez opted not to require body cameras for the county’s SWAT team, the unit known for military-style raids. Perez said there were concerns about requiring footage of SWAT in action that would then be available for public viewing.

“We don’t like to record our tactics,” he said in an interview. “If we record our tactics, we get into a situation where we’re exposing our guys.”

Hey, Director Perez. GMAFB!!

You don't like to record your tactics? Are you serious?

The existence of police SWAT units are one of the reasons why body cams are so necessary.


__________

UPDATE: A Google search reveals that police departments across the country are issuing body cams to their SWAT teams, including LAPD and Daytona Beach PD, to name just two.

__________

If you disagree, Director Perez, then you haven't been paying attention.

NEWSFLASH: It's 2016 and anyone with a TV set can watch police reality shows with hours and hours of footage of SWAT raids on demand.

We already know what your tactics are:

1) Your "guys" show up at a house. 
2) (Sometimes the wrong house.)
2) Break down the door and ...
3) Terrorize everyone inside. 

Sometimes you find a bad guy or two, but many times you don't.

And have you forgotten this, Director Perez?

No charges for Miami-Dade officers in bloody sting that killed four suspects, including informant

Prosecutors criticized a Miami-Dade police squad in the 2011 Redland sting that left four dead — but they said there was not enough evidence to support charges.

___________________

Miami New Times: Miami Dade Police Lured Robbers to the Redland, Then Shot Them

___________________

Here's a suggestion: Get on board with this. If you don't, your tenure as MDPD's director will be a short one.Very short.




Aug. 8, 2014: Juan Perez, deputy director of the Miami-Dade
police department, urges the audience to "fight" for a new class
of cadets already facing lay-offs thanks to planned budget cuts.