Body cam video does not show Miami commissioner shoving code inspector at illegal bar
Update, April 9: Miami police released a third video from a body camera worn by another police officer present. None of the footage from three police body cameras reviewed by the Miami Herald shows any physical confrontation between Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla and code inspector Suzann Nicholson.
A day after a city of Miami code inspector accused Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla of pushing her at an illegal late-night party, the city released two videos from police body cameras that the commissioner said disprove the allegations.
Two roughly 25-minute videos from body cameras worn by two Miami police officers capture the shutdown of an unlicensed nightclub in Allapattah on Feb. 21, where Díaz de la Portilla was present in what appeared to be a VIP area. The commissioner and dozens of patrons were present at the venue past the countywide midnight curfew put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the videos released Friday shows several interactions between Díaz de la Portilla and code inspector Suzann Nicholson, who accused the commissioner of poking her in comments to Miami New Times. They exchanged words for several minutes but no pushing is visible in the footage.
An attorney representing Nicholson told the Miami Herald on Thursday that Díaz de la Portilla had poked and pushed Nicholson in a way that caused her to step backward awkwardly, injuring her hip. Nicholson referenced an incident with the commissioner in a March 8 email to supervisors where she said she thought she was okay right after the “poking and pushing,” but has since been having issues with her left hip. The Herald obtained the email in a public records request.
The commissioner strongly denied the allegations and accused Nicholson of fabricating the incident to fraudulently claim workers compensation. A police incident report on the shutdown made no mention of any altercation. On Friday, Díaz de la Portilla said the footage debunks Nicholson’s claims.
“If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then a video is worth a million,” he said. “There is no substitute for the truth and Ms. Nicholson was clearly lying.”
Díaz de la Portilla also called for Nicholson’s firing.
“This video proves there’s not an ounce of truth to her story. A fraudulent workman’s compensation claim is not a reason to try to ruin someone’s good name,” he said. “Ms. Nicholson should be terminated immediately for her misdeeds, defamation and fraud.”
Nicholson’s attorney, Mathew Baldwin, declined to comment.
Early in one of the videos, Nicholson is led to what appears to be a VIP part of the venue, separated by metal barricades. Díaz de la Portilla, wearing a city of Miami face mask, approaches and introduces himself. Nicholson asks Díaz de la Portilla if the venue has a temporary use permit, and the commissioner said he does not work at the venue. There appears to be confusion — Nicholson is heard stating she was guessing the commissioner was representing the city at an event sponsored by the city.
“Ma’am, nobody’s representing the face of the city,” Díaz de la Portilla told Nicholson.
“Oh, ok,” Nicholson said.
“I know what code compliance is because I’m a commissioner, all right. So if you have a reason to shut it down, shut it down,” the commissioner said. “I know what code compliance is. Please. Don’t tell me I’m representing anybody.”
Minutes later, Nicholson approaches Díaz de la Portilla while she is on the phone. The commissioner, with his face mask down, can be heard asking Nicholson to walk away. Nicholson’s initial comments are not audible in the video.
“You’re code enforcement, right? I’m the commissioner,” Díaz de la Portilla said in the video. “So what you need to do is you need to leave so you can do your job, and I’ll talk to the city manager in the morning.”
Nicholson responds with several okays, and asks the person on the phone if they heard the commissioner’s words.
On Friday, the commissioner said Nicholson had asked him to speak to her boss.
“As you know I cannot do that because it would violate the city charter,” the commissioner said, referencing a city rule that prevents elected officials from giving orders directly to city employees. Commissioners are supposed to speak to the city manager if they want something done. Díaz de la Portilla said he did not call City Manager Art Noriega the next day.
Friday afternoon, Noriega said in a statement that his administration is investigating the allegations.
“We are currently reviewing the body camera footage to evaluate the inconsistencies and determine the accuracy of the claims as well as interviewing all parties involved in the alleged incident,” Noriega said.
The footage released on Friday comes from body cameras worn by two Miami police officers, Edwardo Aviles and Alian Albuerne. A third officer is seen wearing a body camera, but the police did not release video from his camera. It is unknown if the third officer’s camera was on. Miami police did not respond to questions about this officer’s camera on Friday.
Around 9:30 a.m. Friday, Miami’s police department released two body camera videos, days after the Herald first requested the footage. The Herald first received a short clip from the body camera footage at 2:23 a.m. Friday when Díaz de la Portilla’s chief of staff texted the clip to a reporter along with a statement from the commissioner. The short video appeared to be a cellphone video of a computer playing the footage.
“This is what happens when the truth collides with the lies,” Díaz de la Portilla said in his overnight statement. “We will be demanding retractions via our lawyers so that defamers are put in their place.”
Díaz de la Portilla’s attorney, Benedict Kuehne, later sent Herald editors a demand for a retraction of the article reporting on Nicholson’s allegations and the commissioner’s response. The Herald denied the retraction request.
The videos released Friday show multiple police officers and Nicholson entering Museum Miami, an open-air venue that was cited for operating without necessary permits and licenses. The venue was also operating past the countywide midnight curfew, which was put in place to limit business activity during the coronavirus pandemic.
The city’s code compliance and police departments operate a joint task force to conduct business checks across the city. Police officers join code inspectors for the checks.
This story was originally published April 2, 2021 at 8:24 PM.
