South Florida Cop Won’t Be Disciplined for Calling Overtown ‘The Hood’

The Golden Beach Police Department concluded that one of their officers did not violate any departmental policies when he referred to the historic Black neighborhood Overtown as “the hood.”

On August 9, the Miami Herald posted an article on Instagram about the Trump administration reneging on a federal grant to help build a park in the historic Black neighborhood of Overtown. The publication reported that the City of Miami will no longer receive the $60 million allocated by the Biden administration to help reunite neighborhoods cut off by transportation infrastructure decades ago. The Underdeck, a 33-acre park under the new elevated I-395 as part of the Signature Bridge Project, was one of more than 130 projects slated to receive funding.

According to the project description, the park will reunite Overtown (after highway construction divided the neighborhood in the 1960s). The city and the Florida Department of Transportation planned to cover the remaining $23 million to build the park.

Golden Beach Police K-9 officer Dylan Vicioso, who joined the department in February 2024, commented on the post as @goodshepherdncompany, “We are supposed to be mad that the Federal Gov isn’t allocating millions for a park under a highway bridge in the hood?”

In response to another comment, @goodshepherdncompany reiterated, “60 million is too much for an under bridge hood park. I don’t care about the history. Thanks for your thoughts tho.” A review of the Instagram page features photos of Vicioso’s K-9 and police vest.

On August 13, Golden Beach Police Chief Rudy Herbello confirmed that Vicioso’s comments were the subject of an internal affairs investigation. After a three-month review, the department declined to discipline the officer for his social media comments.

“Our findings concluded that while comments were informal, you perceived it [sic] as insensitive, but they did not constitute a violation of departmental policy or applicable law,” a November 21 letter obtained by New Times reads. “The Instagram tagline referenced the officer’s K9 assignment and was not deemed discriminatory in nature.”

The letters noted that all sworn personnel, including Vicioso, had completed the mandatory “Discrimination, Diversity, Inclusion & Smart Conduct” in-service training.

“Please note that the department remains committed to maintaining professionalism and inclusivity,” the letter continued.

According to an interview on a shoe company’s website, Vicioso is a Florida native who served 12 years in the U.S. Air Force.

“I served as a federal reserve police officer and K-9 handler,” the Woobies website reads. “Now working full-time as a police K-9 officer at the Golden Beach Police Department, within Miami-Dade County. My partner K9 Lira is an outstanding Police dog and has held five national and federal explosive detection certifications.”

The site says Vicioso’s goals are “to help however I can, learn more, love more, forgive more, work hard, and pray harder.”