The Streets Aren't Safe - From Miami-Dade Police Drivers

First, they tell us that they weren't chasing a suspect that they were chasing.

''They were not chasing the vehicle, they were following it,'' he said. ``There was no reason for their [sirens and lights] to be on because they were not in a pursuit and were not initiating a traffic stop.''
- Miami-Dade Detective Bobby Williams.

Now, a police officer who knocked a pedestrian out of his shoes and sent him flying 50 feet through the air to his death wasn't speeding.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Miami-Dade Police Department said the officer was reporting to duty in a marked police vehicle at the time of the crash, but speed was not a factor.
- Miami Herald article.

Yesterday, the news was full of reports that contradict the story from the Miami-Dade Police department. His wife reported:

''We were coming out of the store and were starting to cross the street. My husband saw the car coming and pushed me back out of the way. The car just took him with it.''
-per the Miami Herald article

From the WFOR News report:

Witnesses said Jose Munoz, 67, was crossing near Southwest 344 Street and 9th Avenue when he was struck by a police cruiser traveling at a high rate of speed without any emergency lights or sirens. The impact was so great it knocked the man out of his shoes. Witnesses said his body flew more than 50 feet before it hit the ground.

To which the Miami-Dade Police Department responded:

Miami Dade Police released a statement that said their police cruiser "was traveling in routine mode" when Munoz was hit.

And yet someone who actually saw the accident tells a different story:

"The old man was walking. The next thing you know, the officer was flying like a bat out of hell, hit the old man."

- Cedric Oliver, in a WSVN news report

"The man flipped three times in the air."

- Raul Alvarez, in a WFOR news report

I'd like to believe that the police officer wasn't speeding. I really would. But I have to consider that these are the same idiots who tried to tell us that the high-speed pursuit that killed 23 year old Anayency Velasquez wasn't a pursuit.

Right now, the assurances of the Miami-Dade Police Department are far from reassuring.

"..this has also shooken the office up, and they just gave him a couple of days...to be able to gather his thoughts."

- Det. Alvaro Zabaleto

That's nice. A couple of days off while he works out a believable story. How many civilians have they let go home under similar conditions, I wonder?

Foundation helps poor Celiacs

Great article about a group aiding people with Celiac Disease in the Palm Beach Post.

When a $12 baguette tempted Phyllis Kessler in a grocery store aisle, she did not scoff at the price, but instead savored the anticipation of a piece of garlic toast.

Yes, I too have licked my lips over that $12 baguette. But those gluten-free versions of food are expensive.

Four months later, Kessler and her Delray Beach-based celiac support group have raised more than $9,000 to help those too poor to buy substitutes.

She and the folks at the Celiac Disease Foundation of South Florida call it their Gluten Free Food Assistance Program. They believe it's the only one like it in the country.

Now, who's going to help me get more bars to carry Redbridge?

Happy Easter!