Arrest of Woman in Wheelchair Triggers Review of Police Procedures

MIAMI — Miami-Dade Police Director Juan J. Perez defended the actions of two officers on Thursday in arresting a wheelchair-bound suspect without legs on charges related to panhandling outside a Chevron gas station convenience store in South Dade.

But Perez also promised to review current best practices in dealing with the special needs population following the Dec. 3 arrest in which the woman can be seen resisting attempts by police to place her in the back of their patrol car.

Miami-Dade police also released two body cam videos from the incident:

“I have taken a personal interest in the video regarding the arrest of a disabled woman in South Miami-Dade,” according to Perez. “As a result, I've directed staff to contact organizations for disabled persons, to ensure our officers are utilizing current best practices when dealing with individuals requiring special assistance.”

Perez added that “although this discretionary arrest was appropriate, it's important that we continue to work with our community and social service agencies in identifying alternatives to arrest that can provide meaningful assistance to those in need while addressing the quality of life concerns of our residents and businesses."

The woman, who was referred to as "Miss Brown" by officers in the video, was later identified by a local television news crew as Mary Brown. She can be heard on the video refusing to cooperate with police as they asked her to roll her wheelchair across a parking lot to a patrol car and subsequently refusing to get into the vehicle.

Officers can be seen grabbing the handles of the woman's wheelchair and pushing her to the patrol car.

"I'm not getting in this car because I haven't done anything wrong," the woman insists as she steadies herself against the police car and closes the back door from her wheelchair.

"Oh you're going," responded one of the officers, who also said, "Mam you need to get in that car or we're going to put you in that car."

In releasing his statement, Perez said that he had received a number of inquiries related to the arrest.

Videos and image from Miami-Dade Police Department