Miami Beach’s mayor and top cop are defending police actions after officers showed up at a woman’s home and questioned her about Facebook comments she posted about the mayor.
Raquel Pacheco, a former political candidate, blasted Mayor Steven Meiner and city commissioners Thursday morning over what she called a violation of her First Amendment rights.
Pacheco spoke at Thursday’s meeting about how Miami Beach officers showed up at her doorstep last month after she made comments on the mayor’s Facebook page.
“You can disagree with me,” she said. “But what you cannot do… is weaponize the police to intimidate a citizen for speaking.”
Chief Wayne Jones countered her at the meeting, saying “the Miami Beach Police Department is not in the business of policing free speech, but in the business of protecting free speech.”
The controversy began on Jan. 6th when Meiner posted that “Miami Beach is a safe haven for everyone.”
Pacheco responded, posting “The guy who consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians, tried to shut down a theater for showing a movie that hurt his feelings, and refuses to stand up for the LGBTQ community in any way… wants you to know that you’re all welcome here.”
Meiner referenced calling for the death of all Palestinians as “horrific” and something he “never even remotely said.”
Jones described his officers’ response as a “knock ‘n talk,” something he said happens thousands of times around the country on a daily basis. He said his officers have an obligation to react to “something inciteful.” He said the goal was to have “a frank conversation” with Pacheco, describing it as a risk assessment.
She was not arrested, and officers left her home after she refused to answer questions without having a lawyer present.
Meiner insisted he did not direct Jones to send officers to Pacheco’s home, though he did share her comments with him. He said he was simply following the safety policy of “see something, say something.”
“Think about that for a second, a comment on Facebook, and the response was to send law enforcement to my home,” Pacheco said. “No Miami Beach resident should ever experience what I did, because if government can silence one voice you can silence all voices.”
Pacheco said she plans to file a lawsuit against the city.