13 CURRENT AND FORMER MIAMI POLICE OFFICERS ACCUSED OF COVERING UP WRONGDOING

MIAMI - In the city's worst police scandal since the days of "Miami Vice,"
13 current and former officers were accused by federal prosecutors Friday
of planting guns, lying to investigators and otherwise trying to cover up
four shootings in which three people died.

In one of the shootings, a SWAT team fired 123 bullets into an apartment
during a 1996 drug raid and then lied about finding a gun in the hand of
the dead 73-year-old man inside, the FBI said.

The investigation also involved the deaths of two young black men who were
shot in the back by officers after stealing purses on a highway ramp.

All of those charged were veterans assigned to SWAT teams, narcotics units
or special crime-suppression teams in the late 1990s.

Prosecutors said that in at least three cases, police planted guns at the
scene to justify shootings by officers.

"These officers put a stain on the badge of every hardworking, honest,
faithful, honorable police office who puts his or her life on the line
every single day," U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis said.

Lewis said the officers "planted weapons, they lied about their roles in
the shootings, they lied about what they saw, they falsified reports, they
tampered with crime scenes."

He also said the officers stole money, guns and other property from people
in unrelated cases and later planted the weapons at police-involved shootings.

Eleven officers were arrested Friday on an indictment charging them in a
plot to obstruct justice and violate civil rights. Two retired officers
pleaded guilty to conspiracy earlier this week and are cooperating with
investigators.

"This is painful, but this is something we have to go through to get
better," Police Chief Raul Martinez said.

Miami Mayor Joe Carollo said he sent a letter to Lewis urging the Justice
Department to launch a "top to bottom review" of the Miami Police
Department. He said he did not know how soon the probe could be carried
out, saying he was sure "the U.S. Attorney would take the right steps."

The mayor also said he expected more officers to be charged.

All but one of the 11 indicted officers were freed on $100,000 bail. If
convicted, they face five to 25 years in prison.

Several officers refused to comment. Defense attorneys dismissed the
allegations as more spectacle than substance.

"It's like a rerun of everything we've seen before. It's a lot of hype,"
said attorney Janice Sharpstein, who represents two officers.

The case is smaller than the 1980s "Miami River Cops" scandal in which
uniformed officers stole cocaine from drug traffickers and sold the drug
themselves. Three drug boat guards drowned when they jumped into the Miami
River to avoid the gang, an episode that gave the ring its name.
Eventually, more than 100 Miami officers were arrested, fired or disciplined.

The popular TV drama, "Miami Vice," chronicled the Miami drug underworld
and police corruption. The series ran from 1984-1989.

The latest arrests expanded on a March indictment charging five Miami SWAT
officers with conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly lying to
investigators after the deadly 1996 drug raid. The city settled a lawsuit
with the man's family for $2.5 million last year.

The investigation also included the police shooting of a homeless man, who
was wounded in the leg. Officers said he was holding a weapon to the head
of a friend, but it turned out to be a small radio. Jesus Aguero, the only
officer held without bail Friday, was fired for allegedly planting a gun
after the shooting.

"Make no mistake. This circle of officers is not yet closed," said Hector
Pesquera, the FBI chief in Miami. "Time is running out for those who have
not come forward with the truth."

Relations between police and the public have been delicate in Miami for
years. Riots erupted four times in the past two decades after police shot a
black man or officers involved in a shooting were cleared.

Police officials on Friday asked the U.S. Justice Department for a review
of departmental procedures. Similar investigations were launched in Los
Angeles, Cincinnati and the Washington, D.C.

Activist Hattie Willis, president of Communities United, commended the
police chief for seeking the federal investigation but asked: "Can we ever
heal the wrongs that have been done to these families?"