1/ This line in Trump’s tweet: “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”... is a quote from Miami Police Chief Walter Headley
In Dec 1967, months before riots at GOP Convention in Miami, Headley used that quote to announce “get tough” policy for policing black neighborhoods
In Dec 1967, months before riots at GOP Convention in Miami, Headley used that quote to announce “get tough” policy for policing black neighborhoods
2/ Headley promised to use shotguns, dogs, & “stop and frisk” tactics.
“We don’t mind being accused of police brutality,” the New York Times reported him saying at the time. “They haven’t seen anything yet” Headley said.
“We don’t mind being accused of police brutality,” the New York Times reported him saying at the time. “They haven’t seen anything yet” Headley said.
3/ Headley’s stop & frisk policy was a disaster.
2 months after he announced the policy, 2 patrolmen strip-searched Robert Owens, a teenager suspected of carrying a concealed knife into a pool hall. The cops then dangled Owens by his feet over a bridge above the Miami River.
2 months after he announced the policy, 2 patrolmen strip-searched Robert Owens, a teenager suspected of carrying a concealed knife into a pool hall. The cops then dangled Owens by his feet over a bridge above the Miami River.
4/ That incident, Headley’s policing & the treatment of Black residents by white shopkeepers and absentee landlords led to a 3-day riot in Miami in summer of 1968. By the conflict’s end, 3 people died at the hands of police, 18 were wounded, and 222 arrests were made.
5/ After 1968 Miami riots, The National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence cited as a *prime factor for the discontent* the Dec. 1967 news conference by Headley, where he said, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” & announced brutal policing tactics
6/ Here is an actual news report from Dec. 1967 reporting on Headley's “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” line: 
7/ Some more gems from Headley -- the guy Trump was quoting in his "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" tweet.
This is from the Dec. 1967 presser. This presser & his "get tough" police tactics are seen as the prime factor in sparking the 1968 Miami riots:
This is from the Dec. 1967 presser. This presser & his "get tough" police tactics are seen as the prime factor in sparking the 1968 Miami riots:
8/ I'm reading the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence report -- which examined the causes of the 1968 Miami riots.
Here's how it describes Headley (the police chief Trump is quoting).
Here's how it describes Headley (the police chief Trump is quoting).
9/ Headley believed "that the outbreak of civil disturbances can best be prevented by a continuing open display of force, supplemented from time to time by actual demonstrations that the authorities will not hesitate to use this force"
This is the man Trump is quoting.
This is the man Trump is quoting.
10/ Some interesting additional details here.
After Headley used "When the looting starts, the shooting starts" line in announcing his "get tough" policing policy in Dec. of 1967, white & black leaders asked Headley to clarify that his policy would not be applied just to blacks
After Headley used "When the looting starts, the shooting starts" line in announcing his "get tough" policing policy in Dec. of 1967, white & black leaders asked Headley to clarify that his policy would not be applied just to blacks
11/ In the months that followed Headley's "get tough" presser:
- Headley's police stopped black males on the street & asked for ID
- Headley's police addressed black men as "boy" and n*****
- Headley's police raided black clubs and bars with shotguns and dogs
- Headley's police stopped black males on the street & asked for ID
- Headley's police addressed black men as "boy" and n*****
- Headley's police raided black clubs and bars with shotguns and dogs
12/ "It is not unfair to characterize the Headley policy as one of keeping an underprivileged and restless minority orderly and cowed by a constant visual display of force....coupled with frequently harshly executed acts of stopping and frisking...& occasional acts of brutality"
13/ Headley, the man Trump is quoting in his "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" tweet also, like Trump, attacked the press:
14/ Headley received a lot of backlash for his "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" line & his "get tough" policing in Black neighborhoods.
Here's how he defended it: "My police officers have been charged with police brutality so often they are used to it."
Here's how he defended it: "My police officers have been charged with police brutality so often they are used to it."
15/ Here is Headley responding to community concerns that his police officers are harassing young black men with shotguns and dogs:
"It is certainly not our intent to be involved in any short of harassment. WE HAVE THOSE THINGS HAPPEN. WE CAN'T HELP IT ONCE IN A WHILE."
"It is certainly not our intent to be involved in any short of harassment. WE HAVE THOSE THINGS HAPPEN. WE CAN'T HELP IT ONCE IN A WHILE."
16/ My favorite part is that at this same community meeting, Headley promises that the shotguns and dogs will be used with caution, before adding, "Everyone knows I'm not a racist."
17/ Amazed at the similarities Headley shares w/ Trump
- Attacks press for failing to parrot his narratives
- Refused to back down when criticized, "I don't regret a damn thing I've said"
- Brags about supporters congratulating his "courage and wisdom"
Among other things...
- Attacks press for failing to parrot his narratives
- Refused to back down when criticized, "I don't regret a damn thing I've said"
- Brags about supporters congratulating his "courage and wisdom"
Among other things...
18/18 And finally here are some press accounts of how Headley's "get tough" policy impacted the Black community in Miami:
