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Miami Police Used Black Men’s Mug Shots for Target Practice

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Woody Deant’s mug shot taken 15 years ago

 

While a group of Army sergeants attended their annual weapons qualifications training last Saturday, they were shocked to discover hanging mug shots of African American men used as targets for North Miami Beach Police snipers.

Sgt. Valerie Deant arrived at the shooting range in Medley, Florida when she not only found the Black men’s mug shots sprinkled with bullet holes, but also one of the photos was of her brother. Woody Deant‘s mug shot was taken 15 years ago, and was amongst five other mug shots used for target practice. He was arrested in connection with a drag race in 2000 that left two people dead.

The City of Medley owns the Medley Firearms Training Center, which leases their facilities to nearby law enforcement agencies. The shooting range staff doesn’t select the targets used by law enforcement and the military.

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North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis admitted that his officers could have used better judgment, but denies any racial profiling.

The City of Medley owns the Medley Firearms Training Center and it leases the facilities to law enforcement agencies in the area. The shooting range staff doesn’t select the targets used by law enforcement and the military. Dennis defended the snipers’ use of real photographs, claiming the technique is nationally used in facial recognition drills. He also mentioned that the sniper team includes minority officers.

Despite outrage, Dennis said his department will continue to use human images as targets, but only after it expands the number of images in its inventory. His officers are not allowed to use any booking photos from suspects they have arrested, which they have done so in the past.

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