Black Miami Police Major To File Civil Rights Lawsuit

Miami FL

04 August, 2021

12:11 PM

Description

A Miami Times Staff Report Aug 3, 2021 Maj. Keandra Simmons, a 16-year veteran of the City of Miami Police Department, has been demoted – and she is seeking whistleblower protections. Simmons' attorney, Michael Pizzi, informed Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo, the mayor, city attorney and city manager late Sunday of Simmons' intent through filed complaints related to her unexplained demotion. Pizzi also reported his plan to move forward with a lawsuit on Simmons' behalf "based on injuries sustained from defamation, racial and gender-based discrimination, harassment, deprivation of First Amendment and due process right." Simmons was Miami's second-highest ranked Black female police officer; once commanded Liberty City; and was one of the city's first Black female public information officers. More recently, she oversaw the City of Miami Police evidence room and its fleet. She and three others were demoted late last week by Acevedo. Simmons salary has been cut and her rank rolled back to a lieutenant in field operations. A memo sent to senior officers last Friday said Acevedo decided to make the changes after speaking with every staff officer and members of the community. Simmons believes she was targeted because she did not support the termination of the city's highest-ranked married couple, former Deputy Chief Ron Papier and his wife, Cmdr. Nerly Papier. Pizzi said Simmons believes she was demoted for statements made as a witness when she was interviewed about the June firing of the Papiers and resisted backing up the chief's findings. Nerly Papier blew out two tires and hit a curb with her city-issued vehicle. Her husband was acting as interim chief at the time and the accident took place three days before Acevedo was sworn in. In a letter to the city, Pizzi said Simmons is seeking an immediate reinstatement to her former rank of major as well as damages. Besides informing the city of a future lawsuit, filing for whistleblower status gives the city a chance to correct an alleged wrong and is supposed to protect Simmons from any retaliation. Her demotion went into effect Sunday. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.