MIAMI – The family members of two Miami-Dade police officers fatally shot on the job did not get the chance to appeal to the county commission Monday night before they decided whether officers should pay an extra 5 percent toward their health insurance.
Next month will mark one year since Miami-Dade police officers Amanda Haworth and Roger Castillo were gunned down by a criminal fugitive whom they were looking to arrest.
Haworth's family and loved ones, Castillo's wife and the wife of Officer Jose Somohano, who was killed when a criminal shot him with an assault rifle, had planned a personal, difficult, no doubt gut-wrenching message for Miami-Dade County commissioners who are deciding whether police officers will pay an extra 5 percent toward their health insurance. The insurance hike could add up to thousands of dollars extra for the families, and a collective $18 million to the county budget.
"They need to understand that we are willing to not come home at night, but we also have to be able to maintain our loved ones," said Haworth's life partner, Sgt. Rosie Diaz. "I'm going to try to help them understand that we can't give any more than what we've given. We gave everything on Jan. 20."
However, Diaz and the other family members did not get the chance to speak to commissioners after an unhealthy disagreement over exactly who could and couldn't speak Monday night.
Because of the delay, the Police Benevolent Association asked for a deferred hearing. They felt a shortened amount of time would not allow them to put their case on correctly.
"Nobody else deals with the criminal element like we do. Nobody gets scrutinized like we do, and nobody in this budget system was willing to sacrifice as much as we did," said John Rivera, of the PBA.
The police and corrections officers' union struck a contract compromise last month that avoided layoffs and slashed salaries but declared an impasse on the 5 percent health insurance contribution.
"It's not political. It's fiscal," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. "We need the 5 percent. We need the $18 million it represents to balance the budget of PBA and the police department."
The decision is in the hands of 13 commissioners, some of whom are up for re-election next year.
"Every time a police officer goes to work, you don't know whether he or she is coming home," said Robert Haworth, Amanda Haworth's father. "I know that personally."