Miami-Dade Police Honor First Black Director Robert Parker With Building Renaming
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami-Dade Police Department's first Black director now has a lasting memorial.
A Miami-Dade Police Department building in Miami Gardens was renamed the Director Robert 'Bobby' L. Parker, Sr. Professional Compliance Bureau Building on Monday morning.
Director Parker joined the department in1976 and rose through the ranks to become the department's first African American director in 2004.
"We are living in a season where social justice, racial equality, and police accountability are at the forefront of Americas conversation and I say to you, behind these walls, we can find justice and truth," said Lt. Veronica Parker, Robert Parker's widow.
Parker served in the Miami Dade Police Department for over three decades and retired in 2009.
He died on July 22, 2015 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he was 62.
Several of Director Parker's adult children have followed him in joining the police force.