MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A Miami Beach police detective who has been accused of several wrongful arrests has been relieved of duty.
At least three people claim they've been beaten and wrongly arrested by undercover police detective Philippe Archer.
Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez released the following statement Thursday: "As a result of the ongoing joint investigation of Miami Beach Case: 2013-71647 between the FBI and the Miami Beach Police Department. Effective immediately Detective Philippe Archer has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. The Miami Beach Police Department takes all allegations of officer misconduct seriously and will ensure that a full and thorough review of the incident in question is conducted."
Andrew Mossberg told Local 10 last week that he thought he was stopping a robbery when Archer knocked him unconscious and arrested him. The department launched an internal affairs investigation into the incident.
"The Miami Beach Police Department has to know that Detective Archer is a problem," said Michael Goodman, an attorney who represents Guy Moulin.
Moulin (pictured below) is one of three people who have named Archer as a co-defendant in separate civil lawsuits filed against the city of Miami Beach.
"He can't just keep beating people, getting sued, and they pretend like nothing ever happened," said Goodman.
The city paid Moulin $60,000 in a settlement in June.
What may be more telling is that the state attorney declined to prosecute those arrested.
"If they are not guilty, then something happened that shouldn't have happened," said Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower. "I am sick and tired of all this bad publicity that the Miami Beach city police is getting."
Herrera Bower said the FBI's public corruption task force is investigating Archer. She said she has asked the city manager and police chief to figure out how to restore confidence in the department.
"We should have things in place so this doesn't happen," she said. "We have to fix our police department because my concern is that every citizen in Miami Beach should feel very safe with the police around."