SOUTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - A caravan made up of over 100 people drove through South Miami to show their support for the police.
The caravan started in Coral Gables at around 11 a.m. Wednesday and passed by the Coral Gables Police Department before coming through to the South Miami Police Department.
“We started out as something very informal, something very small,” organizer Gromy Latour said.
About 165 cars covered in red, white and blue honked their horns and held up signs to show their support for police, which comes after weeks of protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, and calls to defund police departments across the country.
“We appreciate the police, appreciate all that they’re doing, and we’re completely against this #DefundThePolice movement, so that’s why we’re here,” Latour said.
“It’s nice that they’re all very receptive to this,” Coral Gables Police Sgt. Tomas Salcedo said. “It’s something we need to see more often, and it’s not only for our officers, they’re showing appreciation for other officers in the United States.”
“I was telling every single car. I was telling them two things: ‘Thank you’ and ‘It really means a lot,'” South Miami Police Chief Rene Landa said.
Police said they were not involved in the caravan event in any way, but they were requested to be there for traffic support.
“We’re here to support the police and to tell the world, and the United States mainly, that all lives matter,” Fernando Martinez said.
“We need to show them our support and how much we love them,” Patricia Pita said.
The Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board on Wednesday looked for ways to build a better relationship between police, people and protesters.
“I understand being on the side of law enforcement that you feel attacked, you feel blamed, you feel labeled, but all of those feelings are also on the other side,” Chire Regans said.
The board spoke about the importance of communication when it comes to planning protests and the role of police.
“It’s not really an issue with law enforcement or the community,” Miami-Dade Police Compliance & Standards Chief George Perez said. “It’s really an issue of humanity, and we all want fairness. We all want peace, and we all want to live in a way where we can work and play with one another.”
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