In Need of Help

Subtitle

Village of Pinecrest residents rally around their police to give them more benefits

Police officers and concerned residents gathered at JJ’s American Diner for a Town Hall Meeting concerning the recent loss of 19 officers to other municipalities.

The event, hosted by the Tim Hardaway Foundation, was a forum for residents, police officers and others to air their concerns over the community’s loss of officers because of lack of benefits.

“We hope to accomplish awareness of the fact that we are losing our safety and protection, which is the reason we moved there [Pinecrest] in the first place,” said Tim Hardaway, a Pinecrest resident and former point guard for the Miami Heat. “It’s insane not to have the police force around us; we rely on the safety they provide for our kids. People need to know what’s going on.”

The reason behind the Pinecrest’s loss of police officers is that, unlike other municipalities, they are not provided with a standard benefits plan. These plans usually include a pension, a defined pay scale, shift deferential pay and take home cars.

Furthermore, any Pinecrest officer can be fired from the department at any time during the first five years.

According to Matthew Mierzwa, the attorney for the Pinecrest Police Officers Association, it is unusual for a police department to have such a policy for such an extended period of time.

“This is the absolute worst situation I have ever seen,” said Mierzwa, who specializes in employment law.

Officer Juan Portela, who is the president of the Pincerest Police Officers Association, also spoke at the meeting.

“We have never been able to keep a full 54 member staff,” said Portela, an eight-year veteran of the Pinecrest Police Department. “While we have to give credit to the mayor, who has made it known that the council is pushing for new measures, a 401K plan just does not work for people in our line of work.”

Mayor Gary C. Matzner appeared at the meeting to address the concerns of the residents and officers.

“I recognize that we need to give our police a competitive compensation plan. We are doing everything we can to get back on track, but it is a collective bargaining process,” Matzner said. “When the officers came to Pinecrest, they knew what was being offered. But, that does not mean we should continue to go down that road. I am going to push new measures as quickly as possible.”

Those at the meeting agreed to meet again to come up with more ideas to help the police force.

“Enough with the fluff. Enough with the trees. Enough with the parks. It’s a beautiful city and we love it,” resident Aloyma Sanchez said.

“The reason we incorporated was for police protection and that’s the very thing we’re now lacking. Our streets are safe because of our officers. Let’s take care of our police.”

Photograph

A WARNING: Officer Charles Dewhurst gives Pinecrest resident Fernando Leal a verbal warning for rolling past a stop sign. The Pinecrest officers are facing a manpower shortage.

Credit: ALLISON DIAZ/FOR THE MIAMI HERALD