Miami cop cited by oversight board over bust of local rapper for posting fliers in Wynwood
Almost a year and a half after a local musician was arrested for placing fliers of an upcoming concert on a Wynwood storefront, a civilian oversight board has recommended disciplining the officer for some of his actions during the encounter.
Miami police officer Pedro Nava ran into musician Geovonniex, a Miami resident whose real name is Landon Kinchelow, as he was using adhesive tape to attach fliers to a storefront at Northwest 28th Street and First Avenue back in February 2020. What began as a simple inquiry escalated quickly when Nava asked Kinchelow what he was doing and demanded identification, before arresting the artist.
The interaction between Kinchelow, Nava, other officers and the public was captured on the rapper’s girlfriend’s cellphone camera and on a body camera worn by the officer. At one point a confused Kinchelow questioned Nava’s motive, asking if the officer had detained him because of the color of his “melanin.”
Soon after, Nava forcefully spun Kinchelow around, handcuffed him and placed the musician in the back of a patrol vehicle. By then, several people had gathered on the sidewalk, including a woman who said she worked in the store and that the owner was okay with Kinchelow posting fliers.
During one exchange, Nava, with his right hand on Kinchelow’s chest and a pair of handcuffs dangling from the same hand, told the rapper, “You’re about to be detained.”
“For?” asked Kinchelow. “Vandalism,” said the officer. Kinchelow responds, saying, “Stop that. Stop that, bro. Don’t put your hands on me.” Said Nava: “It’s going to go really bad if you don’t turn around.
Kinchelow was eventually charged with criminal mischief and resisting arrest without violence. The criminal mischief charge was later dropped and the officer was cleared of any wrongdoing by an earlier Internal Affairs probe. But Kinchelow later filed a complaint with Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel, a board tasked with overseeing police interactions with the public. Among the complaints: Kinchelow said Nava used excessive force simply by making an unwarranted arrest.
CIP members said they hadn’t gathered enough facts to cite Nava with excessive force but did determine that the officer used improper procedure by citing Kinchelow with criminal mischief and by not turning on the microphone on his body-worn camera during the hour that it took to book Kinchelow into jail.
Kinchelow’s attorney Harris Gilbert said his client has a court date next week for the remaining charge, which he hopes will be dropped as well. He said Kinchelow seemed to be acting peacefully when Nava approached and the confrontation escalated.
“It doesn’t make much sense to me,” he said.
On Kinchelow’s arrest form, Nava wrote that the rapper was being charged with criminal mischief because he had caused damage in excess of $100 to the storefront. That clearly wasn’t the case, members decided, as there was no visual damage and no complaint from the store owner. The board did agree with the detainment of Kinchelow, who walked away from the officer and gave a false name during questioning.
“There is no criminal mischief here,” said board member Joey McCall.
CIP findings are simply recommendations to the chief of police. Typically, they don’t carry much weight when it comes to disciplining officers because they come after the completion of an Internal Affairs probe. Historically, the police union and its membership have had a fractured relationship with the civilian board, which was formed to much fanfare in 2002 by voter referendum.
But the board’s findings on Tuesday may have carried a little more weight than usual because of the presence of Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo, who was there to introduce himself to the group who and listened in on the proceedings.
“If there is no damage, there is no damage,” said the chief. “We’re not doing that officer any favors if we’re not calling him on that. It’s not criminal mischief if it doesn’t meet the criteria.”
Acevedo — who in one of his first moves as chief took control of Internal Affairs — said Wednesday he intends to take another look at the arrest and that investigators will, too.
“I will handpick folks to look at that case,” he said.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 12:36 PM.
