MIAMI – South Florida law enforcement officers are on high alert due to an uptick in online threats following the release of police bodycam video following the Tyreek Hill traffic stop.
“We will be at a higher alert, and there’ll be increased security out there, said South Florida PBA President Steadman Stahl.
Stahl said police are keeping their senses heightened as fans pack Hard Rock Stadium. They’re reacting to online threats.
We received the “Situational Awareness Bulletin” from a CBS News Miami Source. It’s from the Southeast Florida Fusion Center, which is made up of local, state and federal law enforcement. It came out Monday.
“We’ve had threats that they’re seeing, that they’re investigating about ‘The only good cop is a dead cop. These cops all deserve to be gunned down,’ and stuff like that,” Stahl said.
He said online threats have gone up after the release of bodycam video showing a Miami-Dade officer pulling Dolphins wide receive Tyreek Hill from his car and cuffing him on the ground.
“There is no particular group that’s saying it, but it’s just a lot of chatter on the social media platforms, and sometimes that leads to negative things happening,” he said.
And there’s a ripple effect, some officers are deciding not to work the off-duty detail at the stadium.
“They sign up to work this off-duty job. So some of the officers have chosen to opt out and not go and work the game. They don’t want to be exposed to it,” Stahl said.
Despite all the drama that unfolded this past week, Frank and Marie D’Angelo think there will be an upside to all of this tonight.
“I think it’s going to get the boys to play harder tonight, and I think it’s going to be a good stance for the public, a good stance for the police, for the civilians and the police to co-exist,” Marie D’Angelo said.
Despite some officers opting out of working the stadium Thursday evening, Stahl said they are fully staffed and in place to keep everything safe.
