LeBron James Police Escort -- Miami Police Admit They Broke Protocol

The Miami-Dade Police Department tells TMZ, its officers BROKE PROTOCOL to give LeBron James special treatment ... by helping the NBA star skip traffic in order to get to a Jay Z concert.

As we reported, Miami-Dade PD initially denied involvement in the police escort -- blatant favoritism -- but a rep for the department now tells us its officers were the ones who accompanied LeBron to the Jay Z show.

The rep says LeBron was stuck in standstill traffic at 191st street Friday night and its officers escorted him to the Sun Life Stadium on 199th street ... a total of 8 blocks. You can see the route they took below.

The rep tells us, "This should not have happened." The rep says the department is still looking into which officers were involved and will determine what punishment, if any, is appropriate.