Hallandale Beach SWAT team resigns after police chief takes knee with Black Lives Matter protesters

The entire SWAT team of the Hallandale Beach, Florida, Police Department resigned after the police chief took a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters.

The 10 members of the SWAT detail, including the police union president, resigned from the team but did not resign from the department. Their resignation letter, obtained by The Miami Herald, specifically took issue with Hallandale Beach Police Chief Sonia Quiñones “shockingly” taking a knee with protesters, who were calling for the reopening of the case of Howard Bowe, an unarmed black man who was fatally shot inside his home during a 2014 SWAT raid.

The officers wrote that investigators determined at the time that “no misconduct” had been committed by the officers involved in Bowe’s death.

“This lack of support by members of the Command Staff is crippling to the agency and its rank and file,” the officers said of the chief’s participation in the recent protest, The Miami Herald reported.

The officers also said they were “minimally equipped, under trained, and often times restrained by the politicization of our tactics to the extent of placing the safety of dogs over the safety of team members.”

“The risk of carrying out our duties in this capacity is no longer acceptable to us and our families,” the officers wrote. “The anguish and stress of knowing that what we may be lawfully called upon to do in today’s political climate combined with the team’s current situation and several recent local events, leave us in a position that is untenable.”

Chief Quiñones is expected to meet with the resigned members Monday to discuss their grievances, Mayor Joy Cooper said Saturday, the Sun Sentinel reported.

“I will be following up with our chief of police, following up with our unions and, most importantly, ensuring that our accredited department has the resources and the training that they need to protect and serve our public,” the mayor said.

The city will continue to have SWAT coverage with the help of other local police agencies, Hallandale Beach City Manager Greg Chavarria said.