The department's website is currently featuring a large mural-esque banner depicting five tough-looking characters, including one holding a bat and one throwing up a gang sign, and the plea: "Report Gang Activity".
By our estimation, forty percent of the gang's population is Jay-Z.
Here's the banner-- click on it for a closer look:
Here's the Jay-Z photo the central figure in the banner is clearly modeled after:
Note the hat, watch, pinky, arm band, folds of the football jersey, and the guy's damn face. The fellow on the left doing something gang-y with his fingers looks a lot like Jay-Z too, but we haven't been able to find the source photo for that one yet. Update: Commenter "HipHopGame" has found the inspiration for the figure on the left:
Department spokesperson Napier Velasquez told Riptide he would contact MPD's IT department to learn more about the origins of the painting before commenting.
Our question is this: Couldn't they have found a photo of a real gang member on which to base their art? They are the police.
Update 2: While still refusing to comment, the Miami PD has removed the art from its website.