Anonymous Hackers Post Home Address of Miami Police Union Chief Javier Ortiz

Earlier this month, Miami Police union chief Javier Ortiz used his Facebook account to post the cell phone number of a woman who had filmed an officer speeding. He urged his followers to call her.

Now, in response, a group identifying itself as part of the hacking collective Anonymous has posted Ortiz's personal information through social media, a practice known as doxxing.

On Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, the group published what it says is Ortiz's home address, phone number, email address, and, weirdly enough, his astrological sign (Sagittarius!). The group also released information about a local real-estate agent they say is Ortiz's girlfriend, as well as information about her relatives. (New Times has elected not to post links to any of the group's accounts.)

The move is a direct response to Ortiz's posting personal information from at least two women who have filmed alleged police wrongdoing within the past year. Earlier this month, Ortiz posted the cell phone number of Claudia Castillo, a woman whose video of her civilian traffic stop on a speeding officer went viral. Ortiz invited his followers to “feel free to call” her and also posted pictures that allegedly showed her drinking while boating. The post was later removed by Facebook for violating its terms of service.

Last August, Ortiz sent out a news release with screenshots of Facebook photos belonging to a woman who took a video of an officer allegedly punching a man who was already in handcuffs.

In a message posted to their site, the hackers called Ortiz a "pig" and explained their rationale for the leak:
When New Times called Ortiz this afternoon, his voicemail box was full. But in an email, he said he's not being harassed much at all since the posts and added that some of the information published isn't accurate.

“The information is all wrong, and I'm not even in a relationship,” Ortiz wrote. “I hope that the people at the false addresses that they're publishing aren't being harassed.”

Doxxing is becoming one of the easiest ways for hackers and other miscreants to get revenge in a widespread and public manner. Last week, someone posted 4,000 confidential records of police officers, lawyers, and judges in Palm Beach County, a leak that is being blamed on Russian computer hackers.

Although much of the information about Ortiz is publicly available, certain parts wouldn't typically be available through public records. Under Florida law, information such as home addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and social security numbers of current or former law enforcement officers are exempt from the Sunshine Law. 

Ortiz's national profile has been on the rise this month after he organized a police boycott of Beyoncé's upcoming concert in Miami over supposedly anti-police messages in her latest song. That stance drew a harsh rebuke from a union representing Miami's black police officers, who pointed to other racially tinged stances from Ortiz — including criticizing a black Miami assistant chief for supposedly secretly being a Muslim and calling Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old killed by Cleveland police, a "thug."