The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has ordered 1,000 cowboy hats for deputies at a total cost of $132,000. Each hat costs $132, and the agency says the purchase comes out of its existing uniform budget rather than a new allocation.
The hats are optional. Deputies may also choose to wear no hat, the sheriff’s office said in a statement to CBS News Miami. A social media video showing deputies putting on the hat drew attention to the new option, and Sheriff Rosie Cordero Stutz appears at the end. “We’ve always worn a badge. Now we’re adding a sheriff style to it,” she says in the clip.
Reaction among voters was split. Eliseo Abreus, a Miami-Dade voter and resident for more than 20 years, said he was disappointed by the spending. Beatriz Morejon Paniaga acknowledged the cost but said the hats could be a good idea if they protect deputies.
Stedman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, backed the purchase. He called it part of the agency’s rebranding and said a wider brim offers more sun protection than a baseball cap for deputies directing traffic outdoors. Stahl also credited Cordero Stutz with saving money on other uniform choices. She said at a news conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis that keeping brown uniforms instead of switching to green avoided about $4.8 million in costs.
