Miami Beach cop at center of banana dispute has history of complaints, record shows

Miami Herald ^ | August 31, 2011 | Julie K. Brown

[ConservativeStatement]

A Miami Beach police officer accused of hassling the sister of pop star Beyoncé in a dispute over an inflated banana has had 16 internal affairs complaints filed against him, and 33 documented incidents of using force to make an arrest in his 16 years with the department.

Officer John Pereira was suspended for 120 hours in 2005 for using excessive force, and has been reprimanded three times, including once for violating the department's rules for integrity, records show.

Pereira, who was in uniform working an off-duty shift at Club Cameo in South Beach, allegedly intervened when Solange Knowles was denied entry into the club because she was toting a five-foot banana balloon early Sunday morning.

[ConservativeStatement]

Who needs TV for entertainment.

[386wt]

"When they work the clubs, they then are employees of the club, not the city. They are looking out for the owner of the club,'' Black said. "When the owner has an argument with somebody, often the police end up dragging people out.''

Excerpt from the article.

I thought there was a law called, "...under cover of law..." that dealt with this issue.

[takenoprisoner]

Obviously no one knew who she was. She’s special. Peasant rules do not apply to her. Why she’s the sister of a superstar. How could they have missed this tidbit? I’m confident she informed them right away. But somehow, they didn’t care.

[rawhide]

inflated banana?

Why was she wanting to take an inflated banana into this club, this is what I want to know?

[rawhide]

Never mind, read the article.

[BfloGuy]

Officer John Pereira was suspended for 120 hours in 2005 for using excessive force, and has been reprimanded three times, including once for violating the department's rules for integrity, records show.

Why's he still there? Never mind, I know.