Miami-Dade Police Department - History

History

The Dade County Sheriff's Office was created in 1836 to serve the newly created County of Dade, which originally consisted of the area comprised by the present-day counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin. In the early years, the entire area was policed by as few as three deputies on horseback, and Dade’s sheriffs were appointed by the governor. In 1899, the office of the sheriff became an elected position. By 1915, the jurisdiction area had been reduced to its present size of approximately 2,139 square miles.

In 1957, the metropolitan form of government was established, and the Dade County Sheriff's Office was subsequently renamed the Public Safety Department. The Public Safety Department’s organizational structure, as determined by the metropolitan charter, included responsibility for police and fire protection, the jail and stockade, civil defense, animal control, and motor vehicle inspection. In 1960, the Public Safety Department also assumed responsibility for police operations at the Port of Miami and Miami International Airport. By 1966, the Public Safety Department had approximately 850 sworn officers in its ranks. That year a long-standing controversy over the selection/election procedure for choosing a county sheriff was resolved by voter mandate. Subsequently, non-elected sheriffs were appointed by the county manager as "Director of the Public Safety Department and Sheriff of Metropolitan Dade County."

In 1973, the responsibility for running the county’s jails was transferred to the newly-created Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. By that year, the Public Safety Department had also been divested of all other non-police responsibilities in order to concentrate entirely on law enforcement services. In July 1981, the Public Safety Department was renamed the Metro-Dade Police Department. In September 1997, voters decided to change the jurisdiction’s name to Miami-Dade County. In December of the same year, the Metro-Dade Police Department was renamed the Miami-Dade Police Department.

On September 13, 2007 four Miami-Dade Police Department officers were shot by a subject with an AK-47, resulting in the death of one officer, Jose Somohano. Another officer suffered a serious leg injury. The suspect, Shawn Sherwin Labeet, fled the scene but was found in an apartment complex later that day. He was cornered in a poolhouse bathroom by members of Miami-Dade Police Special Response Team (equivalent to SWAT), and was shot and killed when he refused to drop a pistol he was holding.

In the early Thursday afternoon of January 20, 2011, two Miami-Dade Police officers were shot and killed by a suspect who opened fire on police. According to Miami-Dade Police Director James Loftus, the Miami-Dade police fugitive warrant team were assisting the U.S. Marshals Service in the city of Miami in apprehending a man for whom a murder warrant had been issued. When police arrived they made contact with a member of the family, then there was an exchange of gunshots. Detective Roger Castillo, a 21-year veteran, was shot in the head and died at the scene, and Detective Amanda Haworth, a 23-year veteran, was shot several times and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. She underwent surgery there, but she died Thursday afternoon. Witnesses say they heard eight to 12 shots. Streets were blocked off with police tape as United States Marshals Service walked the streets in riot gear.