MIAMI BEACH, Fla. \u2014 A confrontation at a public park between a Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy and Local 10 News investigator Jeff Weinsier is raising questions about police transparency, identification and First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n
Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n The incident happened during a Baynanza cleanup event at Haulover Park on April 11, where hundreds gathered for a public beach and bay cleanup. <\/p>\n Weinsier was attempting to question Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava about more than $60 million in taxpayer funds spent on electric buses that were taken out of service.<\/p>\n For weeks, the mayor\u2019s communications staff declined interview requests, stating she would not do an interview on the issue. When the mayor appeared at the public event and completed an interview with the county\u2019s own television channel, Local 10 News approached to ask questions.<\/p>\n Video shows a man in a black jacket, later identified as MDSO Deputy Lester Aguilar, stepping in as Weinsier approached with a microphone. Aguilar was part of the mayor\u2019s plainclothes security detail.<\/p>\n During the interaction, Aguilar did not verbally identify himself as a law enforcement officer and had no visible badge or credentials. At no point did he indicate who he was or what authority he had.<\/p>\n Weinsier: \u201cMayor, will you give us five minutes please and just address the Proterra buses? It\u2019s a huge taxpayer issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Aguilar: \u201cYou need to back away.\u201d<\/p>\n Weinsier: \u201cNo, I don\u2019t need to. Don\u2019t push me. Don\u2019t push me.\u201d<\/p>\n Aguilar: \u201cYes, you do, everyone needs to. You want to go to jail?\u201d<\/p>\n Weinsier: \u201cFor what? Standing and trying to interview the mayor?\u201d<\/p>\n Video of the encounter shows Aguilar physically pushing Weinsier. Despite saying everyone needed to move back, the contact appears directed only at him. <\/p>\n First Amendment attorney Thomas Julin reviewed the video and raised concerns about both the conduct and the lack of identification.<\/p>\n \u201cI see you\u2019re just standing there with the microphone asking a question,\u201d Julin said. \u201cYou weren\u2019t threatening the mayor in any way. You were simply asking a question.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not wearing any indications that he is a law enforcement officer. You don\u2019t know who this guy is,\u201d Julin continued. \u201cYou have an unknown person pushing you literally out of the way. You don\u2019t know who you\u2019re dealing with and then you\u2019re threatened with arrest. That\u2019s a very bad situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Julin said the encounter raises two key issues involving potential assault and interference with constitutional rights.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an infringement of your First Amendment rights to ask a public official a question,\u201d Julin said. \u201cYou\u2019re not doing anything that warrants an arrest, so his threatening to arrest you has a lot of problems.\u201d<\/p>\n During the confrontation, Aguilar accused Weinsier of making contact.<\/p>\n Aguilar: \u201cThe next time you put your hand on me you go to jail. I was just trying to do my job.\u201d<\/p>\n Weinsier: \u201cAnd I as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Julin addressed that claim after reviewing the footage.<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t attack the guy. You said, \u2018Don\u2019t put your hands on me.\u2019 I don\u2019t know what else you really can do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Standard law enforcement practices generally require plainclothes officers to identify themselves and display credentials when engaging with members of the public. In this case, no such identification was visible or stated during the initial encounter.<\/p>\n MDSO\u2019s Professional Compliance Bureau has opened an internal affairs investigation into the incident. <\/p>\n Local 10 News has requested information regarding the agency\u2019s policies and procedures for plainclothes officers and is awaiting a response. The sheriff\u2019s office says it cannot comment further due to the ongoing internal affairs investigation.<\/p>\n The confrontation followed weeks of unanswered questions about the electric bus program<\/a>. The buses, purchased with taxpayer funds, have been taken out of service, with many located at the Homestead Air Reserve Base.<\/p>\n