Miami Beach Detective Relieved Of Duty After Misconduct Allegations
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) – A Miami Beach Police detective has been relieved of duty while the department and the FBI investigate allegations of misconduct.
According to a statement by the Miami Beach Police Department, Phillipe Archer will continue to receive pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
At least three people have claimed Archer used excessive force against them.
The most recent person to come forward, Andrew Mossberg, said Archer knocked him unconscious.
He said he thought he was stopping a purse snatching when Detective Archer, who was undercover at the time, knocked him out.
"He rushed me and he kicks me on the side on the head and kicks me on the ground," Mossberg told CBS4 News.
"He's a liability," attorney Michael Goodman said. "They know he's a big problem. They know he's a violent police officer.
Attorney Michael Goodman represents Guy Moulin, whose civil lawsuit against the city of Miami Beach was settled earlier this summer to the tune of $60,000.
Goodman said Moulin was a tourist visiting South Beach when he was arrested.
According to Goodman, officers in plain-clothes grabbed Moulin's children by their necks, presumably because they believed the children were breaking the law.
"He went to intervene and then he got the beating of all beatings," Goodman said of Moulin.
The State Attorney's Office has decided not to prosecute Moulin, Mossberg, and a third person, Megan Adamescu.
Miami Beach Fraternal order of Police President Alejandro Bello said Archer is the victim of city policy.
"Many officers like Archer in this case have a stellar record for over 21 years, and now as a result of this new policy that the city attorney's office is obviously employing to try to settle these cases without really looking at the merits of this case, is causing their reputation to be damaged," Bello said.
Miami Beach Mayor Mattie Herrera Bower said the recent cases hurt the department's image, but adds there are good officers on the force.
"I want my residents to feel that the police is doing a good job," Herrera Bower said. "The police need to understand that this has to stop."
She says the FBI's public corruption task force is investigating.
"Hopefully the federal government and the United States Department of Justice will look into this matter and do what they feel is appropriate," Goodman said.
