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| Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office | |
|---|---|
 Patch of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office | |
 Seal of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office | |
 Badge of an MDSO supervising deputy | |
| Common name | Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office |
| Abbreviation | MDSO |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1836; 190 years ago (1836) |
| Employees | 4,900+ |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Miami-Dade County, Florida, U.S. |
| Size | 2,431 sq mi (6,300 km2) |
| Population | 2,751,796 |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 9105 NW 25th Street Doral, Florida, U.S. |
| Deputies | Approximately 3,200 |
| Unsworn members | Approximately 1,700 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 8 |
| Patrol cars | 4,000+ |
| Boats | 6 |
| Airplanes | 2 |
| Helicopters | 4 |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheMiami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO), formerly known as theDade County Sheriff's Office (1836–1957),Dade County Public Safety Department (1957–1981),Metro-Dade Police Department (1981–1997), andMiami-Dade Police Department (1997–2025), is alaw enforcement agency servingMiami-Dade County, Florida. The department is still often referred by its former name, theMetro-Dade Police or simplyMetro.
The MDSO is the largest sheriff’s office in the southeastern United States and operates out of eight district stations throughout Miami-Dade County. MDSO has several specialized bureaus and is internationally accredited by theCommission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and by the Florida Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation at the state level. MDSO’s headquarters are located inDoral, Florida.[1]
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies wear taupe/brown uniforms. Their vehicles are green and white.[2]
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The Dade County Sheriff's Office was created in 1836 to serve the newly createdCounty of Dade, which originally consisted of the area comprising the present-day counties ofMiami-Dade,Broward,Palm Beach andMartin. In the early years, the entire area was policed by as few as three deputies on horseback, and Dade's sheriffs were appointed by the governor. In 1899, the office of the sheriff became an elected position. By 1915, the jurisdiction area had been reduced to its present size of approximately 2,139 square miles.[3]
In 1957, the metropolitan form of government was established, and the Dade County Sheriff's Office was subsequently renamed the Public Safety Department. The Public Safety Department's organizational structure, as determined by the metropolitan charter, included responsibility for police and fire protection, the jail and stockade, civil defense, animal control, and motor vehicle inspection. In 1960, the Public Safety Department also assumed responsibility for police operations at thePort of Miami andMiami International Airport.[3] By 1966, the Public Safety Department had approximately 850 sworn officers in its ranks. That year, a long-standing controversy over the selection/election procedure for choosing a county sheriff was resolved by voter mandate. Subsequently, non-elected sheriffs were appointed by the county manager as "Director of the Public Safety Department andSheriff of Metropolitan Dade County."
In 1973, the responsibility for running the county's jails was transferred to the newly created Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. By that year, the Public Safety Department had also been divested of all other non-police responsibilities to concentrate entirely on law enforcement services. In July 1981, the Public Safety Department was renamed the Metropolitan-Dade Police Department. In September 1997, voters decided to change the county's name toMiami-Dade County. As such, the department was renamed as the Miami-Dade Police Department the following December.[3]
In 2018, Florida voters—including 58% of Miami-Dade voters—approved a constitutional amendment requiring every county in the state to elect a handful of "constitutional officers," including a sheriff.[4]
On November 6, 2024, MDPD Assistant Director Rosie Cordero-Stutz became sheriff-elect after defeating Miami-Dade's Chief of Public Safety James Reyes. Cordero-Stutz assumed office on January 7, 2025. The transition to a Sheriff's Office is expected to be complete in 2028 per House Bill 1595.[5]
In August 1968, roughly coinciding with theRepublican National Convention in Miami Beach,rioting broke out inLiberty City. When the situation got out of control,Florida Highway Patrol andNational Guard were dispatched. Claiming snipers were attacking them, the police killed three civilians. No one was injured by the sniper fire, and no weapons were found.[6]: 202
On September 13, 2007, four Miami-Dade Police Department officers were shot by a suspect with anAK-47, resulting in the death of one officer, Jose Somohano. Another officer suffered a serious leg injury. The suspect, Shawn Sherwin Labeet, fled the scene but was found in an apartment complex later that day. He was cornered in the bathroom at a pool house by the Miami-Dade Police Special Response Team officers (equivalent toSWAT). He was shot and killed when he refused to drop the pistol that he was holding.
On the morning of Thursday, January 20, 2011, two Miami-Dade Police officers were shot and killed by a homicide suspect, Johnny Sims. According to Miami-Dade Police Department Chief James Loftus, the MDPD fugitive warrant team was assisting theU.S. Marshals Service atMiami in apprehending the suspect, for whom a murder warrant had been issued.[7] Police arrived at the suspect's mother's house and made contact with a member of the family, when the suspect surprised police by opening fire.[8] Detective Roger Castillo, a 21-year veteran, was shot in the head and died at the scene, and Detective Amanda Haworth, a 23-year veteran, was shot several times and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in grave condition where she underwent emergency surgery there, but died shortly thereafter.[9] The suspect, Sims, was shot and killed by another detective at the scene.[10]
In December 2019, the Miami-Dade Police Department came under scrutiny after a shootout inMiramar. MDPD officers, as well as police officers from other law enforcement agencies, responded against the robbers whocarjacked aUnited Parcel Service van and took the driver hostage. After a car chase, the MDPD killed the two suspects, the UPS driver, and an innocent bystander. The department received criticism for its officers' behavior, which included firing at open traffic and using civilian vehicles for cover.[11] A total of 19 officers fired guns during the shootout, including 15 MDPD officers, 3 Miramar Police Department officers, and 1 Pembroke Pines Police Department officer.[12]
MDSO's Sheriff stations include:[13]
MDSO's Contracted municipalities include:
Breakdown of the makeup of the rank and file of MDSO:
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Sheriff |  |
| Undersheriff |  |
| Assistant Sheriff |  |
| Division Chief |  |
| Major |  |
| Captain |  |
| Lieutenant |  |
| Sergeant |  |
| Deputy Sheriff/Detective |
All insignias and ranks are worn on the collars of the shirt, except for sergeant, which is worn on each sleeve, below the department patch.
The department has been depicted in a number of television shows, films, and video games:
