Doral police chief is a top candidate to lead Miami Police Department
With Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales headed for retirement later this year, the city is eyeing the top cop in another South Florida city to lead its police force.
Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez is a lead contender to replace Morales, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Miami District 4 Commissioner Ralph Rosado confirmed that Lopez was in the running.
“Bringing in a new Chief in Edwin Lopez gives us the opportunity to turn the page on years of costly lawsuits as well as serious allegations of discrimination and retaliation from within the ranks of the Miami Police Department,” Rosado said in a statement to the Miami Herald on Thursday.
City Manager James Reyes, who is tasked with picking the police chief, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lopez declined to comment.
Reyes referred to Lopez as “an exceptional leader and a dedicated public servant” in a social media post celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in 2024.
Morales was named police chief under the previous administration led by former Mayor Francis Suarez and former City Manager Art Noriega. He took the helm in 2021 after the tumultuous firing of Police Chief Art Acevedo, who is embroiled in a federal lawsuit against the city. Morales earns $350,000 a year in compensation and is set to retire in October.
Rosado publicly clashed with Morales earlier this year, accusing him at a City Commission meeting of vying to replace Rosado as the District 4 commissioner in the next election cycle and campaigning on the job in his capacity as chief. At the time, Rosado called for Morales’ removal, but none of his four colleagues on the Miami City Commission backed him.
In his statement, Rosado criticized the current police department’s leadership, which he said “has failed to properly support its officers and facilities — including a run-down police headquarters, of which a large portion has been deemed unsafe.”
In response to Rosado’s statement, Morales on Thursday touted historic reductions in violent crime during his tenure “while strengthening accountability, transparency, officer wellness, and community trust.”
“Some of the recent rhetoric appears politically motivated and does not reflect the full picture of the progress we’ve made. We take all concerns seriously, investigate them thoroughly, and remain committed to continuous improvement,” Morales said. “I stand firmly behind this department and the work our officers do every day to keep Miami safe.”
Asked if he had a position on Lopez as a potential successor, Morales said: “Only the [City] Manager can address that topic.”
Rumors of Lopez’s potential appointment made the rounds Wednesday when a screenshot of a fake Miami Herald article announcing him as the next Miami police chief was circulated among the local law enforcement community. The origin of the fake article — which included a photo of Lopez and referred to him as a “veteran law enforcement leader” — is unclear.
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Who is Edwin Lopez?
With more than 28 years of law enforcement experience, including nine years as chief across two departments, Edwin Lopez, a former physical education teacher, is head of the Doral Police Department and a leading contender to be chief of the Miami Police Department.
Lopez rose through the ranks in South Florida, spending more than 25 years with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department — including as chief during his final four years there — before taking over in Doral in 2023.
READ MORE: Political turbulence in Doral: Departures and conflicts shake police department
Lopez, 45, was named chief of the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department in the aftermath of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which killed 17 students and staff, according to the Miami Laker digital newspaper. At the time, he was serving as deputy chief. Lopez was the first Hispanic to hold the position of chief.
Before his appointment as chief of the schools’ police department, Lopez had spent more than 22 years within the department, rising through the ranks. He also previously worked as a detached investigator for the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office gang strike force.
Lopez’s employment contract with the city of Doral set his base salary at $199,000, with eligibility for annual cost-of-living increases and up to 10% merit raises, along with a city-issued unmarked vehicle.
As Doral police chief, Lopez oversees a department of more than 203 employees, including 155 sworn officers, operating with a budget of over $41 million in a city of roughly 82,000 residents.
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