Miami leads the United States in a category that it can't be proud of at all. According to a probe by USA Today, it's the top location for ATF sting operations where undercover agents fool criminals into developing occasionally elaborate plans to rob stash houses that don't exist. Per the investigation, 130 suspects had been arrested in Miami-Dade, nearly three times more than Chicago, the next closest city with 52.
Broward County earned the third spot with 50 cases, proving that South Florida accounts for nearly 30 percent of the national figure. All seven of the fatalities that occurred in these ATF operations took place in Miami, as well. The Miami New Times cites a June 2011 incident where four would-be robbers were shot and killed during an orchestrated heist that took place in a residential neighborhood.
The robbers were allowed to exit their vehicle, even though video showed that suspects in other sting operations across the country were arrested while still inside. The robbers were also gunned down without firing a single shot. The New Times inquired about the Miami-Dade Police Department's rules of engagement and were only told that the sting was "carefully planned and professionally executed." USA Today's investigation implies that the MDPD's actions were not consistent with ATF guidelines.
USA Today suggests that these aggressive raids were born during the days that Griselda Blanco terrorized the city during the height of the drug wars detailed by both Cocaine Cowboys films.
[via Miami New Times and USA Today]
