1980 Miami riots
After the officers were tried and acquitted on charges including manslaughter and evidence tampering, a riot broke out in the Black neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City on the night of May 17.
In the early morning hours of December 17, 1979, a group of six White police officers[2] stopped thirty-three-year-old McDuffie, who was riding a black-and-orange 1973 Kawasaki Z1 motorcycle.
McDuffie's ex-wife, who was planning to re-marry him on February 7, 1980, was on duty as a nurse's aide when he was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Officers Ira Diggs, Michael Watts, William Hanlon and Alex Marrero proceeded to strike McDuffie in and around the head and chest with flashlights and nightsticks no less that five times.
[3] More officers arrived shortly afterward and, according to Veverka, "six to eight" of them began beating McDuffie[9] with nightsticks and heavy Kel-Lite flashlights.
[3] Captain Marshall Frank investigated the cover-up, and made a sworn affidavit which led to criminal charges against four officers.
Officer Mark Meier testified the high-speed chase had slowed to 25 miles per hour when McDuffie shouted, "I give up" and stopped.
By the end of the struggle, the officers had, in the words of medical examiner Dr. Ronald Wright, cracked McDuffie's skull "like an egg" using "long, heavy blunt objects.
"[3][8] The acting director of the Dade County Public Safety Department, Bobby Jones, suspended three officers on December 27.
[14] Nine days later, the all-White six-man jury acquitted the remaining officers on all counts of the indictment after less than three hours of deliberation because of inconsistent witness testimony.
[13] One juror called McDuffie's death "a tragedy" but felt "the Dade County Public Safety Department and the state attorney's office were in such a hurry to appease everybody they blew [their case].
[16] While driving home after a day of fishing, three white men[b] were dragged from their car and beaten to death in northwestern Miami.
[17][18] A butcher[c] driving home from work that night was ambushed by a stone-throwing mob; he drove into a wall while trying to get away, and the crowd set his car on fire, burning him to death inside it.
[20] Florida governor Bob Graham ordered 500 National Guard troops into the area; despite his doubling their number the next day, the riot continued.
In one incident, a black man[f] who had driven to a convenience store was shot in the chest with a shotgun from a passing pickup truck while his family watched.
Local police barricaded parts of Coconut Grove to warn motorists away from the area, as drivers had reported having rocks thrown at them.
On July 28, 1980, a federal grand jury indicted Charles Veverka, despite his having received immunity from the original charges filed by the state during the first trial.
[9] The jury foreman cited Veverka's voluntary sworn statement contradicting initial police reports as the biggest factor in the acquittal.
[citation needed] Herbert Evans earned a master's degree from the University of Miami and stated he may apply to law school.
[33] On April 20, 2006, Hanlon, who had trained as a lawyer, was permanently denied admittance to the bar by Florida's state Supreme Court.
[33] Charles Veverka resumed his job as a security guard after his December 1980 acquittal on the charges he had violated McDuffie's civil rights.
