3 May 21-27, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ MIAMI-DADE NICE TRY UNIVERSAL SAYS ICE DID NOT GET PERMISSION TO USE MIAMI VICE LIKENESS IN AD. BY B. SCOTT MCLENDON W WDJD? What Would Don Johnson Do? The actor’s character Sonny Crockett would routinely break the law in the name of justice on Miami Vice. So, maybe the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials were just thinking like the vigilante when they didn’t seek permission before using Universal’s intellectual property for a promotional ad for immigration enforcement agents? Universal City Studios LLC joins A-list artists and creators who’ve seen their work used by DHS and/or the White House, like Sabrina Carpenter (who demanded the White House and DHS stop using “Juno” in videos highlighting ICE raids), Beyoncé (who threatened a cease-and-desist after President Donald Trump’s campaign used “Freedom”), and ABBA (who demanded Trump’s campaign stop playing “Dancing Queen”). A Universal spokesperson tells New Times the company “was never ap- proached” about using its property for the ad. The spokesperson didn’t answer further questions. DHS didn’t respond to a request for comment. The one-minute video begins with an up- ward pan showing white-sand beaches and palm trees before a clip of a fishing boat rip- ping through the water, all while 80s synth- pop plays in the background. “Miami ICE” is written in blocky, Art Deco-style lettering colored bright blue and pink. Sound familiar? The video then cuts to clips of ICE agents detaining people, driving through streets, talking on walkie-talkies, giving orders, and, who could forget, the brief clip of flamingoes and Miami waterways? (Maybe so they could caption the photo “NICE City.”) The post is seemingly part of Trump’s push to resell ICE to the public as “NICE” (National Immigra- tion and Customs Enforcement). ICE’s Miami field office has made more than 41,000 arrests since Trump took office for a second term, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Per capita, Florida outpaces most states, including New York and California, according to the report. While unpopular with many from the be- ginning, ICE’s image problem grew to a fever pitch in January when agents killed U.S. citi- zens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minne- apolis. Since then, DHS has posted a flurry of photos showing arrests of accused criminals, Drake songs playing over arrest videos, and other meme at- tempts like the Mi- ami NICE video. That post gar- nered more than 345,000 views on the department’s X (for- merly known as Twit- ter) account. Many of the 400 comments praised the scenes of people in cuffs and fam- ilies being shattered, but a few saw through the glitz and glam. “Your ICE agents are domestic terrorists,” wrote one user. “Not NICE. American citizens are plagued with violent assaults from ICE agents. We are all LESS safe near ICE agents. An American citizen has a higher chance of an ICE agent physically assaulting them than an immi- grant,” another wrote. “Man I can’t wait until this clown show is over. Everything out of this administration is so unprofessional it’s ridiculous,” another said. “You guys are truly so fucking stupid,” added another. [email protected] | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS DHS has once again used an artist’s intellectual property without permission. Photo by Matthew Paulson from Flickr, “Miami ICE” text from DHS, collage by New Times ▼ MIAMI CLOCKED A MIAMI COP WAS FIRED AFTER ALLEGEDLY FAKING OVERTIME WHILE HOME IN BROWARD. BY ALEX DELUCA A Miami Police Department (MPD) officer has been fired after allegedly logging nearly 100 hours of fake overtime last summer. Last June, an MPD sergeant filed a com- plaint with the department’s internal affairs unit alleging that officer Erick Hernandez logged 10 hours of off-duty work at a Home Depot within the City of Miami — while he was actually more than a dozen miles away at his home in Broward County. Internal affairs launched a three-month investigation into Her- nandez and found this was just one of many in- stances in which the officer allegedly logged bogus overtime hours for shifts he never worked, ultimately collecting more than $5,000 for 99.14 hours of unworked time. Following the probe, internal affairs investiga- tors recommended that the city terminate Her- nandez; they noted a “concerning pattern of behavior of similar nature” in his past. (New Times has requested Hernandez’s employment file.) On April 14, city manager James Reyes sent Hernandez a let- ter informing him of his termina- tion. The letter lists a handful of department rules that the officer allegedly violated, including “mak- ing a false statement, report, com- munication, or entry,” and “truthfulness,” as well as three Florida laws he allegedly broke in- volving theft, providing false infor- mation, and “official misconduct.” “You are hereby notified that you are terminated as a Police Officer effective April 14, 2026, for having failed to fulfill your obligation as an employee of the Department of Po- lice, City of Miami, Florida...,” the letter reads. It’s unclear if Hernandez is facing any crimi- nal charges. New Times was unable to reach him for comment. Miami POA FOP Lodge 20, the local police union that represents Miami po- lice officers, did not respond to emailed re- quests for comment. While Hernandez signed up to work and sub- mitted pay invoices for 48 off-duty jobs between April 23, 2025, and July 24, 2025, a review of his patrol car’s GPS found that he either arrived late, left early, or didn’t show up at all for 39 of these jobs, according to the internal affairs report. The review also found that for 18 of the 48 jobs, Her- nandez was still at his home in Broward County when he clocked into work “as if he had arrived at the job site.” “For eight (8) of those jobs, Officer Hernan- dez clocked in and out of [work] from home, never leaving his home in Broward County,” the report reads. “For one (1) of the jobs, Officer Her- nandez clocked in one time...within the City of Miami limits, drove around the City of Miami for approximately two (2) hours, never stopping at the job site, before returning to his home in Broward County.” According to the report, Hernan- dez submitted invoices and was paid as if he’d performed 332 hours of ex- tra duty work during those three months at a rate of $50.50 an hour, but GPS records and timesheets show he failed to work 99 of these hours. When asked about the instances where he clocked in and out of work despite never leaving home, Hernan- dez told internal affairs that he was “going through a difficult period in his life where he found it difficult to get out of bed and made some decisions as a result.” He later “accepted responsibility and apolo- gized for each instance where he failed to amend his time to reflect the hours he had actually worked,” according to the report. “Officer Hernandez stated that he had gone through a difficult period in his life both ‘men- tally and physically’ and made mistakes as a re- sult,” the report reads. “Officer Hernandez stated that he obtained help and that he was currently feeling better.” [email protected] THE POST IS SEEMINGLY PART OF TRUMP’S PUSH TO RESELL ICE TO THE PUBLIC AS “NICE.” New Times artist conception Photos by Jason Lawrence (Miami police car) via Flickr and Miami Police Department (timesheet)
