By Francisco Alvarado
Miami New Times, Nov. 8 2012
Carlos Miller: Not guilty! As one of Miami’s most fervent free speech activists, Miller was facing a criminal misdemeanor of resisting arrest stemming from a tussle with one particular member of Miami-Dade Police Department’s finest on January 31.
Video that Miller shot of his arrest. It appears to confirm his claims that (1) there were other media at the scene who were not arrested, and (2) that he didn’t do much to provoke his arrest. In a strange twist, the officer who demands his arrest appears to be public information officer Major Nancy Perez.
While filming county and City of Miami cops clearing out Occupy Miami protesters from the Stephen P. Clark Center in downtown, Miami-Dade Police Maj. Nancy Perez shouted for his arrest because Miller allegedly ignored her commands he clear the area.
via Photography is Not a Crime
Yesterday, a Miami-Dade jury quickly acquitted Miller after one day of testimony. “When the jurors went in to deliberate, I got nervous,” the photographer-blogger says. “I was already thinking about an appeal.”
Perez, who is charge of the county police department’s media relations unit, did not respond to an email requesting comment.
Photo Credit Carlos Miller
Miller came to court with a proverbial ace up his sleeve in Glenn Garvin, ace columnist for the Miami Herald!
Dun-dah-dun-dah!
Garvin was also covering the Occupy Miami eviction on Jan. 31. The Herald scribe explained that he never heard Perez direct or guide any journalists covering the scene to clear the area, Miller claims. “When he saw me get arrested he told the jury he was worried he’d get arrested too,” Miller says. “He was concerned about getting arrested to so he walked up to her. She told him he was fine.”
Photo Credit Carlos Miller
Miller, who posted video of his trial on his blog, asserts that the jury foreman informed his lawyer that Garvin’s testimony was key to his acquittal.
Miller’s Mugshot
Miller adds that he doesn’t know Garvin personally.
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