Assessing Harms' Way in Miami

Officials examine police performance during riot

The violence had ended in Miami's mostly black Overtown neighborhood, but racial tensions remained high last week. On Saturday, some 1,000 mourners buried Nevell Johnson, 20, whose killing by a Miami policeman ignited two days of rioting. City officials were so worried about more trouble that they persuaded the family to cancel a planned funeral procession from the video-game parlor in which Johnson was shot to services in Liberty City, site of a black riot in 1980 in which 18 people died.

The ceremony, although emotionally charged, was held without incident, but Miami knew that it could not afford to relax. Eight investigations were under way to pinpoint the causes of the disorder and assess the performance of the Miami police against the rock-throwing, car-trashing and window-smashing mobs. Some of the probes focused on Policeman Luis Alvarez, who shot Johnson in the head at short range after, police claimed, the victim had made a "sudden move." Johnson had a handgun under his shirt.

Miami civil rights leaders called for the dismissal of Police Chief Kenneth Harms, 43, a 23-year veteran of the department. Harms' reputation for competence is high, although some city officials liken him to General George Patton because of his tough talk and brusque manner. Indeed, Harms lived up to that image by refusing to make mollifying statements that might ease the friction between police and blacks. "The police did not cause the riot," said Harms, who blamed "200 to 250 hoodlums" for the "robbing, looting and torching."

Defenders of the Miami police point out that the force has expanded by 62% in the past two years, from 640 to 1,039 members, in an expensive effort to combat one of the highest crime rates in the nation, much of it related to drugs. Of the new recruits, 82% are from minorities. While Harms has increased Hispanics on the force by 31.6%, the number of black policemen has increased only 6.1%. At the same time, many white officers have resigned, so the force is now 44.2% white, 39.2% Hispanic and 16.6% black. Miami's population breakdown: 15% white, 58% Hispanic, 27% black.

This shift in the composition of the police department has had some unintended consequences. The increased Latinization of the force has angered many blacks, who resent the services and attention given to Cuban immigrants by city officials. The shooting of Johnson by Alvarez, a Hispanic with only 21 months on the force, inflamed this sore spot. Miami officials also note that he and his partner, Louis Cruz, 22, had left their assigned patrol area and gone to the video-game parlor on their own.

Another result of the rapid growth of the police department is that a high proportion of its officers are new to the job. More than half (58%) have less than three years of service; more than a third (36%) have less than 18 months and are still on probationary appointments. Many may not be sufficiently trained or experienced to handle racial incidents or employ minimal force when violence is threatened. Four blacks have been killed by policemen in the past three months.

Still, Miami police face so much crime and so many troublesome situations on the streets that they pay a heavy personal price. While only one officer has been killed on duty in the past twelve years, each year nearly half of the city's police are injured on the job. A startling 72% have been divorced. Police psychologists report that 25% are in psychotherapy for alcohol-or drug-related problems.

There is also sympathy among Miami city officials for the difficult role of Harms. "He's been catching it from all sides," says one of his associates. "He's like a man trying to stand up on rolling logs." So far, Harms has retained enough balance to keep his job, although he and his department were sharply criticized after the race riots of 1980. Those logs are slippery. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.