North Miami Beach Police Busted For Using Booking Photos Of Black Males As Shooting Targets

North Miami Beach Police Department should used employee photos of their officers as shooting targets instead of booking photos of former Black males that had been arrested to avoid criticism for profiling, racism and targeting Black males.

By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

January 16, 2015

North Miami Beach, Florida - On Thursday, Woody Deant, 33, posted on his Facebook account that the North Miami Beach Police Department officers had been using former booking photos of Black males, including his as targets for police snipers and officers at the Medley Firearms Training Center, the City of Medley's shooting range. The photos were discovered by Valerie Deant, his sister who is a National Guard Sergeant. Her unit went to the range for a weapons qualifications training and noticed the posted mug shot targets, which were left by the North Miami police officers. 

When North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis was contacted by NBC 6 News, he defended the use of the booking photos, but admitted the officers should have used better judgement, denied any racial profiling led to the use of the photos and the officers should have removed the booking photos after they were used. Dennis says, that other law enforcement agencies use booking photos as well, but none were found to justify Chief Dennis claim. Law enforcement agencies use commercialized targets instead.

Valerie notified her brother, that police were using his booking photo as a target. He became upset and criticized police for using his 2000 booking photo that was taken at 18 years of age when he was arrested for drag racing.

Chief Dennis or his officers would not be to happy, if citizens began to use the photos of the North Miami Beach Department officers as targets in a local shooting range as well? Dennis says, there is no policy in the department to prevent or to discipline officers from using booking photos of people for target practice. But, he did claim that booking photos of Hispanics and Whites males have been used too, according to NBC 6.

Hispanic News Network U.S.A. searched to see, if citizens in Florida are prohibited by law from using actual police officers photos as shooting targets as well and found none.