Miami-Dade Sheriff Rejects GTA 6 Marketing Deal Over Crime Themes

Image via @Complex

Miami-Dade County's proposed marketing partnership with Rockstar Games for Grand Theft Auto VI has run into strong opposition from local law enforcement and a county commissioner.

Last month, a pitch sent from the Mayor's office to Rockstar was leaked to the public. The document laid out several ideas for how the county and the game maker could team up for a major marketing push ahead of the title's launch.

The proposals include:

• Billboards, trains, buildings, and public art spaces were all floated as potential canvases for Vice City-themed branding.

• One of the more eye-catching ideas involved temporarily renaming Miami International Airport to Vice City Airport, complete with branded luggage carts and a wrapped plane.

• Downtown Miami could see a mural featuring characters from the game, along with Metromover cars wrapped in Vice City colors.

• PortMiami was pitched a Port Gellhorn inspired installation with cargo containers and cranes, while Rickenbacker Beach was suggested as a photo spot with palms, boats and sunset views.

• Tropical Park could host a car culture event with lowriders and DJs, and Miami's Main Library floated a Vice City Radio studio for local artists and recording sessions.

• Rockstar would foot the bill for all of this, not taxpayers.

County officials see it as a real financial opportunity, one that could boost tourism and put Miami in front of the game's massive global audience. Nothing has been formally agreed on yet, though, and law enforcement wants to keep it that way.

Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez and Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz released a joint statement slamming the plans. According to the pair, the real issue isn't whether GTA VI will draw attention to Miami-Dade. It's whether the county should use public resources and its brand to promote a fictional version of the city built around crime and lawlessness.

"Grand Theft Auto is a video game franchise built around criminal activity," Cordero-Stutz said. "Its fictional world includes murder, robbery, drug trafficking, carjacking, violence against law enforcement, and other conduct that the men and women of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office work every single day to prevent."

There’s also a political angle here. According to the Miami Herald, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is a Democrat, while both Bermudez and Cordero-Stutz are Republicans. Bermudez is even seen as a potential contender for mayor once Levine Cava reaches her term limit.

The courts, on the other hand, have taken a more measured stance. Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit's Chief Judge, Ariana Fajardo Orshan, asked the mayor to keep courthouses and judicial facilities out of any GTA VI marketing, but the letter stopped short of opposing the deal entirely.