| Key West Police Department | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | KWPD |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Key West, Florida, USA |
| Size | 7.4 square miles (19 km2) |
| Population | 23,342 (2021) |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Key West, Florida |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | |
| Key West Police | |
The Key West Police Department (KWPD) is a law enforcement agency servicing a population of 25,031 and 7.243 square miles [1] within the municipality of Key West, Florida, United States.
Law enforcement within the city of Key West originated with the incorporation of the city in 1828 with a town Marshal. The jail was the brig of a ship docked at the city port. By the turn of the 20th century, in 1900, the KWPD had a complement of 13 sworn officers. [2]
On March 10, 1904, Key West recorded its first officer killed in the line of duty. Policeman Clarence Till responded to a fight and was overpowered by a group of men who took his weapon. He was shot several times and died after 10 minutes. [2]
The Police Athletic League, or PAL, was incorporated in 1910 and seeks to prevent juvenile crime by building relationships between police officers and community youth through athletics. [3]
In 1984 the KWPD was declared a criminal enterprise and several high-ranking officers of KWPD, including Deputy Police Chief Raymond Casamayor, were arrested on federal charges of running a protection racket for cocaine smugglers. [4]
In 2011, KWPD officer Mark Siracuse tazed a man named Matthew Murphy in an altercation on Duval Street. The resulting injury put him in a vegetative state. His family sued the city claiming that the officer did not identify himself, approached Murphy without warning, and tazed him in the back. The city settled for $850,000. [5]
In 2013, Charles Eimers was killed in police custody. [6] KWPD originally claimed that while fleeing from police, Eimers collapsed and was then found unconscious by officers. However, bystander video revealed that Eimers was conscious and surrendered to the police immediately before his death. [6] After this incident, KWPD purchased one hundred body cameras and reviewed its policy on prone restraint: it now requires officers to monitor the suspect for vital signs at all times. [7]
In 2018, KWPD officers arrested an 8-year-old boy and charged him with felony battery. They attempted to handcuff him, but his arms were too small for the restraints. The Monroe County State Attorney’s Office chose not to prosecute the case about nine months after the arrest. [8]
In 2020, Chief Sean Brandenburg was suspended for 5 days and required to pay restitution of $681.27 after it was revealed that in 2019, on-duty officers helped him move into his new residence. [9]
The city of Key West cross-designated all KWPD sworn officers as code compliance officers in 2020, making refusal to sign a civil citation an arrestable offense. [10]
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist. Without the key, the handcuffs cannot be removed without specialist knowledge, and the handcuffed person cannot move their wrists more than a few centimetres or inches apart, making many tasks difficult or impossible.
An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody, usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questioned further and/or charged. An arrest is a procedure in a criminal justice system, sometimes it is also done after a court warrant for the arrest.
Positional asphyxia, also known as postural asphyxia, is a form of asphyxia which occurs when someone's position prevents the person from breathing adequately. People may die from positional asphyxia accidentally, when the mouth and nose are blocked, or where the chest may be unable to fully expand.
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated offices, such as in military rank and civilian law enforcement.
A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or sometimes just a chief, while some countries favour other titles such as commissioner or chief constable. A police chief is appointed by and answerable to a state or local government.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) is a joint city-county law enforcement agency, which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, United States. Duval County includes the incorporated cities of Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Jacksonville Beach, and Neptune Beach; the beach cities have their own police departments as well.
The Miami Police Department (MPD), also known as the City of Miami Police Department, is a full-service municipal law enforcement agency serving Miami, Florida, United States. MPD is the largest municipal police department in Florida. MPD officers are distinguishable from their Miami-Dade Police Department counterparts by their blue uniforms and blue-and-white patrol vehicles.
The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas.
In the United States, a sheriff is the chief of law enforcement of a county. Sheriffs are usually either elected by the populace or appointed by an elected body.
The Cincinnati Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of Cincinnati, Ohio. The department has 1,053 sworn officers and 119 non-sworn employees.
Muskogee Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Consisting of 91 sworn officers and 28 other employees, the department serves a population of over 40,000 people.
The Rochester Police Department, also known as the RPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of the City of Rochester, New York, reporting to the city mayor. It currently has approximately 852 officers and support staff, a budget of approximately $90 million, and covers an area of 37 square miles (96 km2). The Rochester Police Department has been under a court-ordered federal consent decree from the United States Department of Justice since 1975 over its hiring practices. The decree was part of a 1975 settlement involving racial discrimination.
The Omaha Police Department (OPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. The OPD is the largest law enforcement agency in the state of Nebraska.
A rough ride is a form of police brutality in which a handcuffed prisoner is placed in a police van or other patrol vehicle without a seatbelt, and is thrown violently about as the vehicle is driven erratically. Rough rides have been implicated in a number of injuries sustained in police custody, and commentators have speculated that the practice contributed to the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, in April 2015. Throughout the U.S., police have been accused of using aggressive driving tactics to "rough suspects up", resulting in numerous injuries, and millions of dollars of damages awarded to victims and their families.
On November 15, 2015, two police officers fatally shot Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old African-American man, in Minneapolis. The two shooters were Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze. They were a part of the Minneapolis Police Department which subsequently placed the men on paid administrative leave. The night after Ringgenberg and Schwarze shot him, Clark died at the Hennepin County Medical Center after being taken off life support. His death resulted from one of the gunshot wounds the shooters inflicted on November 15.
On July 18, 2013, Tyrone West, a 44-year-old African American male, was pursued by two officers of the Baltimore Police Department after he fled a traffic stop during which cocaine was allegedly found. The cocaine later went missing in police possession after a subpoena was issued. West was on parole at the time of this incident with an extensive criminal record including assault, resisting arrest, and attempted first-degree murder. West ultimately died during the scuffle with police and various medical experts have given conflicting assessments of contributing factors including cardiac arrhythmia, dehydration, positional asphyxia, and extreme environmental temperatures.
Manuel Ellis was a 33-year-old African American man who was killed by police during an arrest on March 3, 2020, in Tacoma, Washington. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department initially claimed that Ellis had attacked a police car and officers, leading to the arrest. State prosecutors quoted civilian witnesses as saying that Ellis did not attack the police car or officers; they also said it was the officers who attacked Ellis after a conversation. Video of the incident showed officers repeatedly punching Ellis, choking him, using a Taser, and kneeling on him. State prosecutors stated that "Ellis was not fighting back", citing witness statements and video evidence. A police radio recording showed that Ellis said he "can’t breathe". Ellis told officers "can't breathe, sir" multiple times, according to prosecutors. Ellis was hogtied, face-down, with an officer on him, for at least six minutes, and a spit hood was placed on his head in this position, stated prosecutors. Ellis died at the scene while receiving medical aid from paramedics.
The 2020 Kaharlyk police rape took place in May 2020 in Ukraine, garnering extensive media coverage. On May 23, 2020, police officers in the town of Kaharlyk in Kyiv Oblast (province) tortured and raped a woman who was being kept in police custody. The event caused a public outcry.
Marvin David Scott III was an African American man who died on March 14, 2021, in police custody at a correctional facility in McKinney, Texas, United States. The Texas Ranger Division is conducting an independent criminal investigation of the incident. Seven law enforcement officers were placed on administrative leave.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
