Miami-Dade Police Director to Church Meeting: 'Riots Are Not Acceptable'

The Miami-Dade Police Department is preparing for civil unrest in case George Zimmerman is acquitted, according to local reports. They’re working with local churches in particular to minimize the risk, with Miami-Dad Police Director JD Patterson preaching at the Peaceful Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Thursday evening, “Riots are not acceptable and riots are not expected…We don’t have anything to give us an indication otherwise, so we expect a peaceful event as a result of the verdict.”

A pastor did tell Patterson he thought that the city would be “Ground Zero” for rioting and looting. The city is setting up what it calls “First Amendment zones” for protesters.