Dear Key West Multimodal Transportation Team and Key West Police Department:
We have recently observed that the Key West Police Department is performing bicycle traffic enforcement stops resulting in the arrest and detention of immigrants. We are concerned that these traffic stops are not being applied evenly to all Key West community members and that vulnerable populations are being intentionally targeted by KWPD officers. Many of us have seen bicycle riders who appear to be white commit the same traffic violations without being stopped, much less arrested. This pattern raises serious concerns for us about the use of racial and ethnic profiling by our local police force.
We understand that Florida law treats bicycles as vehicles, and that cyclists must stop fully at stop signs and red lights. We acknowledge that some riders in our community, including immigrants, are not following these rules. However, selectively enforcing these rules, or taking advantage of these rules to target individuals whom officers believe may be of tenuous immigration status, is not a safety strategy and it erodes community trust.
Key West police stopped Sisley Pestana Caipo for an alleged bicycle traffic violation at 2:10 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4 at the corner of 1st Street and Seidenberg Avenue. Officers told witnesses on the scene that Caipo was being arrested and detained for a traffic violation. Two days later, on Tuesday, Oct. 6 around 8:40 a.m., police arrested Bejy Vertus while he was riding his e-bike in the 500 block of Staples Avenue.
Both people were stopped and arrested by KWPD without any other agency present. Neither of them ever appeared on the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office website after their arrests. Both detainees were turned over to immigration enforcement officers without being cited or charged with anything else. For the period of time between their arrests and when they finally showed up on the ICE locator website several days later, these individuals were basically missing.
If the Key West Police Department and the City of Key West are truly committed to public safety, they must work to regain the community’s trust. That begins with transparency regarding KWPD’s involvement in the enforcement of federal immigration detention policies, and a commitment to educating our community on the behaviors that may make people a target of that enforcement.
We implore the city and police department to publish clear, visual instructions in multiple languages, with the precise bike-riding standards. This information should educate bike riders on exactly what a lawful stop looks like and how to avoid the danger and penalties that come with traffic law violations.
We also expect the Key West Police Department to be able to show that those standards are enforced equally, regardless of race or ethnicity. Even if the data show that there is equal enforcement across community members, it is clear the consequences are not equal. A routine traffic stop should not end in deportation.
Our Requests
- Help our community understand current bicycle traffic enforcement efforts by:
a. Clarifying whether the legal consequence of failure to stop at a stop sign is arrest and detention. It is our understanding that under Florida law, a bicycle or e-bike violation is a civil violation and should result in a summons or warning. If that is not the case in Key West, that needs to be communicated to residents.
b. Sharing weekly or monthly data on bicycle-related stops, including the race and ethnicity of the person stopped, the outcome (warning, citation, arrest), and the number of people referred to or held for federal immigration authorities, so the community can see that the standard is applied equally.
- Educate all community members on the current standards by:
a. Providing us, the Key West Immigrant Support Network (KWISN), the City’s current bicycle law educational materials, including any video, PSA, or multilingual handouts, in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole to disseminate to vulnerable community members with which we work.
b. Publishing clear, visual, multilingual instructions (English, Spanish and Haitian Creole) showing exactly what officers expect of cyclists at stop signs and red lights.
c. Posting these materials prominently on the city’s website and on city and KWPD social media, and confirming that all relevant links work.
d. Adopting a warning-and-education approach for bicycle stop-sign and red-light violations while this outreach is being expanded.
We are willing to partner with you in disseminating to all the members of our community, and would welcome a meeting with the chief of police, the multimodal transportation coordinator, the mayor, and any interested commissioners to discuss these requests. We would appreciate written acknowledgement of receipt of this letter.
We believe safe streets and fair treatment go together, and we want to work with the city of Key West towards both. Thank you for your time and for your service to Key West.
Sincerely,
Key West Immigrant Support Network
