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- The Miami model are the tactics employed by coordinated law enforcement agencies during demonstrations in Miami, Florida relating to the negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) trade agreement in November 2003. The same tactics were first developed and tested at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania under the direction of John Timoney, who served as police chief to Philadelphia during the RNC and Miami during the FTAA. On November 13, 2003, four days before the FTAA, the city passed City of Miami Ordinance 54-6.1, outlawing a broad range of items that could be construed as weapons or devices for disrupting public order, as in a "sleeping dragon" and outlawed any coordinated group of two or more people who are attempting to get public attention and disrupt the normal flow of traffic. In addition, any gathering of 8 or more people lasting more than 30 minutes without a permit would be considered illegal. The ordinance was designed specifically for the FTAA and had a sunset provision built into it. Miami-Dade State Attorney Kathy Fernandez Rundle responded to allegations of police brutality saying "The police were very professional, very controlled... I think we have a model here for the rest of the world to emulate in the future when these sort of events take place." Further allegations and complaints were met with assurances by authorities that police had acted 'according to plan'. Political activists and academics continue to use the term to refer to a framework of similar tactics used by law enforcement in subsequent events, including trade meetings and political conventions. (en)
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