Things were winding down here at the PINAC newsroom when we received a message through our Facebook page saying, “You are such a fucking asshole.”
We get messages like that all the time, but this guy was a retired cop from the Miami Police Department, the same agency that beat and arrested me in 2007 for photographing them against their wishes, which led to the launch of this news site.
And I figured I would tell him that in case he was not aware, specifically mentioning that the arresting cops were also assholes.
And then I did a quick Google search on him and discovered he had been investigated for a towing scam where he was accused of having cars towed to specific companies in exchange for kickbacks.
That is actually a common scam in Miami for cops. I was a victim of it myself a couple of years ago when a group of Miami cops had my car towed from an empty parking lot next to Starbucks because the Starbucks lot was full.
They knew it was me because we made and maintained eye contact as I walked into Starbucks as they were harassing some other poor schmuck. I almost began recording but I was on a tight deadline with a client, which was why I was rushing into Starbucks to edit and send photos.
I was also wearing a PINAC shirt. And my license plate number is PINAC and it’s not uncommon for cops in Miami to greet me by name rather than beat me as they once did.
There was a no parking sign in the lot but it was meant for the daytime when the lot is full, so I took a chance and later regretted it. I just didn’t think they would stoop that low because I know nobody called them to complain about my car.
But they did and I had to pay almost $200 to get the car back and I am almost certain some of that went into the pockets of those cops because cops down here tend to ignore petty things like parking illegally in a vacant lot after dark. Especially when they know the person has gone into Starbucks (as if they don’t do that all the time).
When I sent Sardina the following screenshot, calling him a “criminal,” he laughed it off and said he was cleared and is now collecting his pension, which did not surprise me one bit. That’s just how the Blue Mafia operates. That is why the towing scam is so common. They know they will get away with it.
He was also investigated by the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel but apparently retired before the investigation could proceed, so he now probably doesn’t have anything better to do than message us with insults, which is fine with me because I usually just end up ignoring people like that.
Below are screenshots of our conversation since he agreed to go on the record when asked by our automatic response to messages.
P.S. As I was finishing writing this story, Sardina messaged us again, apologizing for insulting us, saying he had been in church the whole time and managed to hear the pastor talking about the importance of being humble.
I will accept his apology but I will still publish this story.
I didn’t take anything he said personal and I hope he doesn’t take this story personal because then I will have to start watching my back.
After all, retired cops can be just as aggressive as active cops as I reported earlier today.
