*Miami officials unveiled a special police car in honor of Black History Month and as expected, it was met with fierce backlash.
The African-themed Miami police car was “ill-timed,” Christine King, the City Commission’s lone Black member, said Friday, Yahoo Sports reports.
The newly designed cruiser was reportedly unveiled by King on Thursday, and a Black police officer group sponsored the squad car to celebrate Black History Month. Per Yahoo Sports, the car is “decorated with black fists, silhouettes of Africa and stripes of green, yellow and red,” the outlet writes.
“I heard the design took over a year, which shows this was a thoughtful process,” King said in a statement. “The intent is to honor and respect our Black police officers and their service. However, I understand that our country is in mourning and the unveiling is ill-timed.”
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Today we honor and celebrate Miami Police Black History with unveiling of our new Black History vehicle. Among all of the officers who were in attendance to commemorate the unveiling were some of our very first black police officers. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/Vi6blGVYha
— Miami PD (@MiamiPD) February 2, 2023
The “ill-timed” statement is in reference to the Black police officers in Memphis who viciously beat Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7 and he later died of his injuries. The heinous crime was captured on police body cam video and released to the public on Jan. 27.
After the unveiling of the Black History patrol car by Mayor Francis Suarez, King, and other city commissioners, social media users wasted no time mocking the vehicle.
“The Miami police car misses the mark on celebrating Black history by highlighting the wrong continent,” Florida state Rep. Dotie Joseph told NPR.
Stanley Jean-Poix, president of the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, defended the design.
“It celebrates our African ancestry,” Jean-Poix told WLRN. A Twitter post from the association noted that the “1st EVER Black History wrapped Vehicle and Badge” is “a moment in time for us to celebrate our history in law enforcement.”
Members, come celebrate with us the exciting unveiling of our 1st EVER Black History wrapped Vehicle and Badge. This is a moment in time for us to celebrate our history in law enforcement and that of the MCPBA, who was the sponsor of them both. It will be a day to remember. pic.twitter.com/cmf76qMFFz
— Miami Community Police Benevolent Association (@mcpba1946) January 28, 2023
When he spoke at a Black History event in Miami on Friday, Miami-Dade Commissioner Keon Hardemon said Miami’s Black History squad car “wasn’t tasteful.”
“During this time, people make efforts to show that they care about us,” he said. “They do things I do think they think we will find to be welcoming. Sometimes they’re just not. Sometimes the approach is wrong.”
Hardemon added, “It probably would have been better just to say ‘Happy Black History Month,’ and not include the symbols. The whole conversation that we have about Black history in this country is that Black history is American history.”
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