When Florida National Guard Sgt. Valerie Deant arrived at a shooting range in the city of Medley, she was shocked and devastated to see her brother’s picture with holes all over it.
“I was like 'why is my brother being used for target practice?'" Deant asked. “There were like gunshots there, and I cried a couple of times.”
It was Woody Deant’s mug shot taken 15 years ago, after he was arrested for being involved in a drag race that left two people dead.
His picture was among five other black men’s, riddled by bullets when used as targets by North Miami Police Officers.
Deant and her fellow soldiers were at the Medley Firearms Training Center for their annual weapons qualifications training when they discovered the bullet-riddled images left behind by North Miami police officers who used the range before them.
North Miami Police Major Kathy Katerman told HuffingtonPost that the department has multiple lineups for target practice. Some feature only white men, others are all Latino and one features photos of only women.
"The public thinks there should be one woman and one white man and one black, but that's not really what test is about," Katerman said. "We have targets of all races."
Police Chief Scott Dennis told NBC South Florida that officers used poor judgment. However, no one would be punished.
