After Acevedo’s hiring and firing, Miami could change how police chiefs are chosen
The controversial end of Art Acevedo’s brief tenure as Miami’s police chief is expected to spark a new debate over how the city government selects its top cop.
Immediately after Acevedo was fired Thursday night, Assistant Chief Manny Morales was sworn in as the city’s interim police chief. It’s unclear how City Manager Art Noriega will find his next permanent police chief, but he will likely be closely watched by five commissioners who unanimously voted to fire Acevedo just six months after Noriega recruited him.
On Friday, Noriega told the Miami Herald he did not have a plan yet for finding the next permanent chief.
Mayor Francis Suarez, one of Acevedo’s biggest supporters when the chief arrived from Houston, said that he has not yet had a deep conversation with Noriega about how the city should proceed. But he suggested Morales might be seen as a steady, familiar hand in an unstable moment for the department.
“I presume he’s going to give Manny an opportunity to prove himself. That might be a possibility,” Suarez said. “I think the goal is to have stability.”
A proposal prompted by Acevedo’s hiring that almost made the Nov. 2 ballot would have allowed commissioners to appoint a search committee that would control the recruitment of Miami’s police and fire chiefs. Now, the proposal could soon be revived in the wake of Acevedo’s firing.
Acevedo was hired in March in a surprise move where Noriega, with the help of Suarez, circumvented a public hiring process that included an expert search panel and interviews of multiple candidates broadcast on TV. In secret, Noriega met with Acevedo, and his decision to hire the outspoken chief came out of nowhere for most city officials.
That abrupt pivot drew criticism early on from Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who has since sponsored a change to the city’s rules that would make a more transparent process permanent. In July, Reyes proposed placing a question on the ballot that would have asked voters if elected officials should play a larger role in selecting Miami’s police and fire chiefs.
The change would have allowed commissioners to appoint a search committee to recruit and recommend candidates for the public safety positions. Under Reyes’ plan, the city manager would have to select one of the committee’s three recommendations. The manager could reject the recommendations, but the search committee would again have to provide names.
Even though the Reyes plan passed with a veto-proof 4-1 majority in late July, Suarez vetoed the referendum in August. The veto ensured the measure would not be included on the Nov. 2 ballot due to deadlines set by the county elections department, and once the commission reconvened in September after a one-month recess, commissioners did not try to overturn the mayor’s veto.
Shortly after Acevedo’s ouster Thursday night, which capped weeks of controversy and bad blood between the former top cop and city officials, Reyes’ office confirmed that he wants to reintroduce his idea. He asked the city attorney’s office to prepare an item for the Oct. 28 commission meeting, where commissioners could discuss putting the question on an upcoming ballot.
It’s too late to add any questions to the Nov. 2 ballot. The commission could decide to hold the referendum during the statewide primary in August 2022. Commissioners previously indicated they did not want to hold a separate special election, which is more costly for the city compared to having a ballot question during a regularly scheduled vote.
This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 12:23 PM.
