as you may have heard, the miami heat and the city of miami are were planning a massive block party in downtown miami on october 29th (miami's home opener against orlando) to celebrate the heat's triumphant victory in the 2011 nba finals.
turns out, the block party is likely a no go because, get this, the miami-dade police department doesn't want to provide free security.
according to miami's cbs4 news:
"Plans for a huge, downtown celebration on the Miami Heat's opening home night may have been put on hold amid concerns over a planned protest by police and worries about crowd control. The plan was to shut down Biscayne Boulevard for two blocks in front of the American Airlines Arena and put on a bash for thousands of revelers... Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado had talked up the party last week, but told a downtown development task force on Monday that "there are some concerns" now about the party being staged...
An aide to the mayor said the team is concerned about access and safety for paying fans attending the game, including a "huge number" of new season ticket holders... The Mayor's uncertain assessment of the party's future came shortly after the union representing Miami police officers vowed a "massive" protest at the event and advised its members not to sign up to work the celebration."We're going to be out there in force demonstrating on opening day," said Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President, Sgt. Armando Aguilar. "What I've told our employees was to not volunteer for the Heat game so that they can assist us in the demonstration."
The police union is angry over pay cuts imposed on police officers by the city to help close a gaping budget deficit. "They are going to spend whatever it takes to have this huge party opening night for the Heat, but at the same time they're cutting our salaries and cutting our benefits," the union president said. Mayor Regalado said police plans for a protest figured in his re-thinking the party's viability. "It's part of the concern, because we need to have off-duty police, and if they don't work, we can't have a party," Regalado said. The police union vowed to protest any celebration using tax dollars, even on a limited basis. "We'll be there," the FOP's Aguilar said, promising a demonstration by cops against what he called a "slap in the face" from the city."
not for nothing, but that's kind of a bitch move. seriously, the miami-dade pd should show up to work every day for free. honestly, if you asked me "hey, wanna go get all roided up & go run around town driving like a f**king asshole, pulling guns on people, shake some people down, kill some homeless people, kill some witnesses, plant some guns on people, rape some chicks, rob some drug dealers like my name was omar and arrest some innocent black guys for dwb, i'd probably pay you for the opportunity.
but no. they can't be bothered to donate a few hours of their precious time to work for free so that the rest of us can celebrate the miami heat's glorious victory in the 2011 nba finals.
thanks a lot guys