Acevedo Firing Leaves Miami Police Leadership In Doubt

Miami FL

13 October, 2021

8:19 AM

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By Erik Bojnansky, Miami Times Senior Writer, the Miami Times Oct 12, 2021 Less than six months on the job – and 19 days after sending a controversial memo accusing three city commissioners of interfering with his leadership – Art Acevedo was suspended from his position as chief of the Miami Police Department on Monday, the first step before being shown the door. Sgt. Stanley Jean-Poix, president of the MCPBA, said he was "disappointed" that Acevedo was suspended, insisting the chief wasn't given enough to time to acclimate to his new environment and initiate his reforms within the department. "It is a new department, he has to learn the culture, he has to learn how Miami is different from other areas," Jean-Poix said. Lt. Ramon Carr, vice president of the MCPBA, said Miami City Manager Art Noriega acted too soon in suspending Acevedo, especially since the city commission approved a resolution by Commissioner Manolo Reyes to instruct City Attorney Victoria Mendez to hire an "independent" investigator to look into Acevedo's claims in the memo, Acevedo's hiring and Acevedo's actions as police chief. "They have jumped the gun, especially when they (the City of Miami) have their own investigation and there's a possible investigation (pending) from the FBI and the FDLE," Carr opined. In a statement to the media, Noriega said he's suspending Acevedo because the "relationship between the chief and the organization has become untenable and needed to be resolved promptly." "In particular, the relationship between the chief and the police department he leads, as well as with the community, has deteriorated beyond repair," Noriega declared. "Relationships between employers and employees come down to fit and leadership style and unfortunately, Chief Acevedo is not the right fit for this organization." Noriega's suspension of the chief was backed by Mayor Francis Suarez, who recruited Acevedo from Houston last March. (Acevedo was officially sworn in April 5.) "This is a difficult decision and it marks the beginning of the end of an unfortunate episode for our city," Suarez said during an Oct. 12 news conference. Under city charter, the police chief's suspension will become a termination once it is ratified by a majority vote of the Miami City Commission. A meeting on Acevedo's ultimate fate will be held Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. In the meantime, Assistant Police Chief Manny Morales has been named interim police chief. As of deadline, Acevedo's termination appears likely since the suspended chief accused three commissioners – Joe Carollo, Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Reyes – of interfering with his efforts to reform the MPD as well as an internal affairs investigation of Luis Camacho, a sergeant-of-arms accused of leaking information on Suarez's security detail while the mayor was in Key Largo. In an eight-page memo to Noriega dated Sept. 24, Acevedo declared his intent to provide information "to the proper authorities" regarding unlawful use of force allegations against police officers. Noriega also accused Carollo and Diaz de la Portilla of wanting to target certain businesses, as well as Carollo wishing to use the MPD "as his personal enforcer against anyone he perceives as offensive." Acevedo reportedly sent the memo to the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. A spokesman for the FDLE confirmed it received the memo "but have not at this time opened an investigation." Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, stated via email that the office reached out to the FBI "and have offered them our full assistance and cooperation in any investigation they plan to undertake." The FBI hadn't returned an email from The Miami Times by deadline. Acevedo's claims have been denied by all three commissioners. Apart from his rift with commissioners, Acevedo's leaked comments about what he referred to as the "Cuban mafia" during a roll call meeting strained relations with the Cuban American exile community. And his suspension of various police officers riled relations with the MPD's police union. Nevertheless, leaders of the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, an organization that represents Black police officers within the MPD, continue to support Acevedo, a former police chief of Houston and Austin, Texas, who became famous for criticizing then President Donald Trump's remarks on Black Lives Matter demonstrations and for marching with BLM activists in Houston. Tommy Reyes, president of Miami Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 20 (and no relation to Commissioner Reyes), declined to comment on Acevedo's suspension. However, prior to Acevedo's pending removal, he told The Miami Times that the union did not support Acevedo's leadership. "The department and city as a whole is hurting right now and we need to heal. That healing process cannot start until Art Acevedo is no longer with us," Reyes said. But Jean-Poix credited Acevedo for advocating for police reform, vouching for more comfortable uniforms, increasing diversity in the department and giving everyone a fair shot at promotions by eliminating nepotism and awarding promotions based on merit. "I think [Acevedo] has done a lot of good things in just five to six months," Jean-Poix said. "No other chiefs have come in to ask for feedback from the rank and file, he brought back interviews for specialized units and told us how he came about in picking staff. The previous chief didn't do that." Besides the MCPBA, three Black District 5 activists spoke in favor of Acevedo staying on as chief during a Sept. 27 special meeting. District 5 Commissioner Jeffrey Watson, who was granted the power to sign subpoenas as part of the city's investigation into Acevedo, said the city is still in the midst of a "process to figure it out" after the chief "wrote a letter accusing my colleagues [of] corruption." "No one knows anything about the allegations [Acevedo] made or his ability to the [90-day policing] plan. We are all starting to wait for the process to pay out," Watson said. On Sept. 30, Noriega demanded a 90-day plan from Acevedo demanding how he intended to reform the MPD, improve officer morale, interact with the media "and repair your relationships with our elected officials." Acevedo responded with a 24-page plan that included reducing gun violence and homicides and meeting with the mayor and each commissioner "in the spirt of finding common ground and conducting a candid self-assessment of my performance as chief of police." In his suspension notice Noriega called the action plan "materially deficient." Carr said he would have liked a chance for Acevedo to enact his plan. As for Acevedo's relationship with commissioners, Carr said alliances are made and broken all the time at City Hall, and felt there was a chance Acevedo could mend things with the three commissioners. "This is the City of Miami," he said. "Anything can happen." In a text to The Miami Times, however, Diaz de la Portilla celebrated Acevedo's suspension. "The natural outcome of an arrogant and dishonest police chief was that he would be dismissed. His bad actions speak for themselves. Our city, our police officers and our residents will be better off as a result," Diaz de la Portilla wrote. Although Suarez declined to comment on the contents of Acevedo's memo, the mayor did note that the document was sure to ruin the chief's relationship with the three named commissioners. "When you throw down the gauntlet in that way, you do set up a scenario that is untenable," Suarez said. Miami Times staff writer Johania Charles contributed to this report. 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.