Miami-Dade sheriff slams Grand Theft Auto marketing proposal

• But Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said Thursday that associating with a violent game that encourages players to kill civilians and police officers is not the message Miami-Dade County should be sending.

Catch up quick: "GTA VI," the most anticipated video game in years, is set in a fictionalized version of Miami called Vice City.

• Rockstar Games reached out to Miami-Dade about a possible marketing campaign and the county proposed several concepts, Carlos Suarez, a spokesperson for Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, told Axios last month when news broke of the discussions.
• Proposals include redesigned passenger areas at Miami International Airport that would create an "arrival experience that immediately establishes Miami as the real-world inspiration for Vice City."
• Nothing has been formally agreed to or approved, Suarez said.

The other side: Sheriff Cordero-Stutz slammed GTA as a "video game franchise built around criminal activity…that the men and women of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office work every single day to prevent."

• "At a time when law enforcement is working every day to reduce violent crime, prevent robberies and car thefts, combat drug trafficking, and build stronger relationships between our deputies and the communities we serve, I believe we need to seriously consider the message we send when our own government promotes a fictional identity centered around many of those same crimes."
• "Miami-Dade County is not Vice City."

County commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, who joined the sheriff in criticizing the proposal, said he questioned whether the county should use public resources, facilities and its global brand to promote a "fictional depiction of Miami centered on crime, violence and lawlessness."

• "I still cannot believe that we are even considering temporarily rebranding important County assets, including Miami International Airport, as 'Vice City Airport.'"