Welcome to the website of Award-Winning
Crime Author, Michael Berish.
www.realmiamivice.com
“The world is full of stories, not atoms.”

I worked as a patrolman, detective, and supervisor with the City of Miami Police Department for twenty-two years; thirteen of which were spent as an undercover detective in the REAL Miami Vice where I worked everything from Narcotics & Vice, Prostitution, Gambling and Pornography, to Dignitary Protection of President Jose Napoleon Duarte (of El Salvador) and Pope John Paul II.

Bad things happen in “the Pit,” a notorious crime-infested ghetto in downtown Miami. My experiences as a Miami police officer serve as fuel for these exciting, intense stories about life as a cop in a tough part of a big city. These police stories have been published in several national magazines and have won several writing awards.

My book, “REFLECTIONS FROM THE PIT,” pulls no punches; it shows you the good, the bad, and the ugly (warts and all); the dark side of police work, both the humor and the tragedy.

“Reflections from the Pit” was awarded BEST FICTION NOVEL (2nd Place) published in 2008 by the Public Safety Writers Association.

I chased the dross of society in every sector and on every shift as either a patrolman, detective, or supervisor; none was more beguiling, nor as vibrant as the roughly 789 square block area in 40 Sector that geographically ran west from North Miami Avenue to Northwest Twelfth Avenue, and north from West Flagler Street to Northwest Twenty-ninth Street, and was known as “the Pit.”

There are 8 million stories in the Pit.

In the Seventies, I was a City of Miami police officer riding in "the Pit,"—the Black ghetto in downtown Miami—and whenever one of those cycle of events that staggers you back onto your heels would happen, I'd turn to my partner and say: "There are eight million stories in the Naked City; this has been one of them." (This saying was used at the end of the 1948 movie entitled, “The Naked City,” and the 1958 TV series.)

Later in my career, I revised that adage to: "There are eight million stories in 'the Pit'; this has been one of them." I was never sure if any of my partners knew exactly what I was referring to (reference the movie or TV series), but they sure knew what I meant. My book is a peek into that human swamp, into several of those eight million stories.

If you are looking for politically or culturally correct stories, read no farther; these tales are not meant to be. In fact, some stories are openly racist and sexist in nature, which is exactly what a police department is at times: a racist, sexist, prejudicial, homophobic, bureaucratic institution where brutality—of all forms and every description (physically and mentally)—and injustice abound.

This anthology attempts to psychologically portray human puzzles—with different points of view—enduring within the absurdities of urban existence with all sharing one common bond: they live in the grip of “the Pit.”

This is not just another collection of rehashed police stories with shoot-outs, car chases, and damsels in distress.

I feel my approach to storytelling is unique in that all of these stories contain individual, quirky, off-center characters that focus on their basic character flaws while dealing with the social issues of the day. They are meant to be snapshots into the dark side of police work and deal with segregation, teenage prostitution, crazies who think they have been abducted by aliens, the murdering of transvestites, the lack of compassion and sympathy by the younger generation for their elders, the stupidity of criminals and the cowardice of police officers in the face of danger (the latter of which is rarely seen on TV), hangings from police cruisers, affirmative action, Cuban freedom fighters a.k.a. terrorists, the callousness of society towards the homeless, drug-dealing cops and corruption, bungled police stings, the "don’t get involved" syndrome, the raping of the elderly, and police brutality and its senseless violence.

All of these stories were written to stand on their own; several were published separately and won various awards. However, if REFLECTIONS is read from beginning to end, various personalities appear in several of the stories so that the fabric of the anthology will flow like a novel with repeating characters appearing as offenders and victims as the officers of M.P.D.—like modern day gladiators in the arena of ancient Rome—battle, sometimes to the death, in "the Pit."

Hopefully, with my intimate knowledge of the Pit, these Miami cop stories—which cover more than one hundred years of history—can be brought to life. When you finish reading “Reflections from the Pit,” you’ll be wondering: "I never knew people like this, much less cops, ever existed!"

Mostly, I hope these reflections give you pause for thought and a peek into the human swamp that moves ever onward, resolving nothing.

THE CITY OF MIAMI

Originally, when Miami was incorporated in 1896, Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler laid out "Colored Town”—as they called it—as a section for the Black laborers to live in; it later became the black ghetto in downtown Miami, stigmatized as "the Pit" by the officers who worked it, and known as "Overtown" by the denizens who lived, worked, and played there.

88.17 percent of the racial makeup of Miami is minorities; 11.83 percent is Non-Hispanic Whites. The Magic City has three official languages: English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, Miami is ranked as the second most dangerous metropolitan area in the U.S.—based upon the number of murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts.

The City ranks second to last in people over eighteen years old with a high school diploma.

It’s the third largest immigration port in the country, and ranks number one as the poorest city in America with nearly a third of its residents living in poverty—a greater percentage than any other city in this country of 250,000 or more. A City Manager once described it as a city of extremes where there are the rich, the very rich, and a lot of poor people—no middle class. Bottom line: all this makes for a very bad mix on the crime rate.

Some of these contes, or reflections, might amaze you; others may horrify you; several might amuse, while still others might impinge upon your inner emotions. A few deal with such baser instincts as corruption, which the Magic City has a long history.

One of the earlier Chiefs of Police was indicted for first-degree murder. One Chief of Police took the Fifth Amendment when subpoenaed before State Attorney Janet Reno’s office. Another Chief—around the same time—ended up serving time in a Federal prison.

And what about the street cops?

“…Just before the 1980’s River Cops scandal, well over 100 officers were either arrested, fired, suspended, or reprimanded for crimes including ripping off drug dealers" (from a Miami New Times article by Frank Alvarado, published 2/16/06). I once heard a Chief of Police say that it was only a few rotten apples and not the whole barrel. That barrel can get awfully crowded at times.

We’ve all heard that expression: You get the type of government you deserve. Well, to me, the citizens of Miami got and are still getting—from what I can tell—the type of department they so richly deserve.