1990 Wynwood riot

Race riot in Florida 1990 Wynwood riot December 3, 1990 Wynwood neighborhood of Dade County, Florida officers acquitted of death of Leonardo Mercado 0 0 The Wynwood riot occurred in December 1990 in Wynwood, Florida. After the acquittal of officers who had beaten to death a small time drug dealer named Leonardo Mercado, locals rioted causing $3 million in property damage. The incident would later be called the Mercado riot.https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1992-08-11-9201150064-story.html ARRESTED MAN DIED OF BLOWS WITNESSES SAY POLICE BEAT VICTIM TO DEATH www.sun-sentinel.com 2019-04-30 Events Prelude and sparking incident By 1990 the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami was generally impoverished and home to many Puerto Rican residents.https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/wynwood-bar-owners-say-theres-a-conspiracy-to-kill-the-neighborhood-6391821 Wynwood Bar Owners Say There's a Conspiracy to Kill the Neighborhood www.miaminewtimes.com 2019-04-30 Local Puerto Ricans had noted how little Puerto Rican representation existed in Miami. After the riot Emilio Lopez, president of the Borinquen Health Care Center in Wynwood would go on to say "I dare you to find in the city of Miami a Puerto Rican in a position of authority", and "If he is, he is so entangled with the establishment that he won't do anything for his people."https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/05/us/puerto-ricans-alienation-is-cited-in-miami-rampage.html Puerto Ricans' Alienation Is Cited in Miami Rampage The New York Times 5 December 1990 2019-04-30 Holmes Steven A. Leonardo Mercado was a suspected small time drug dealer in the neighborhood. Police officers Pablo Camacho, Andy Watson, Tom Trujillo, Charlie Haynes, and Nathaniel Veal Jr. (members of the Miami Police Department's undercover Street Narcotics Unit) confronted Mercado. In 1988 they met Mercado outside his apartment because of a suspected death threat he had made. The officers ordered him inside his apartment then allegedly proceeded to beat him to death. The officers were charged each with one count of conspiracy and three counts of civil rights violations. On December 3, 1990, all the officers were acquitted.https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/12/03/Youths-riot-after-cop-acquittal/6441660200400/ Youths riot after cop acquittal www.upi.com 2019-04-30 Riot On December 3, 1990, the day of the officers acquittal, a mob erupted into violence in the Wynwood neighborhood shortly after 6:30pm. Many of the rioters were Puerto Rican residents. One local, Clemente Montalvo, told The New York Times about the riot, “We want people to know we exist. Cubans get everything; we get nothing.”https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/04/the-forgotten-history-of-latino-riots/522570/ The Forgotten History of Latino Riots Bloomberg 11 April 2017 2019-04-30 For about three hours the neighborhood was put under siege by the mob until 200 patrolmen restored order to the neighborhood. Many cars were overturned and businesses set ablaze, but no serious injuries or deaths were reported.https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-05-mn-5503-story.html Order Restored to Riot-Torn Miami Streets : Protest: Anger over acquittals of police in a killing caught the city by surprise. Extra officers guard the usually quiet Puerto Rican sector. www.latimes.com 5 December 1990 2019-04-30 See also Race riots in Miami 1980 Miami riots References Category:1990 riots Category:1990s in Miami Category:Racially motivated violence in Florida Category:Racially motivated violence against Hispanic and Latino Americans Category:Race riots in the United States Category:Riots and civil disorder in Florida Category:1990 in Florida Category:December 1990 in the United States Category:Police misconduct in the United States Category:Police brutality in the United States Category:Stateside Puerto Rican riots in the United States Category:Wynwood