Doral police chief is getting a big raise as he heads to Miami
Outgoing Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez’s new job leading the Miami Police Department comes with a sizable pay raise.
In his new role as Miami police chief, Lopez will start off with a salary of $325,000, according to his offer letter. That’s over $70,000 more than the approximately $254,000 he earns in Doral.
The pay bump comes with increased responsibilities. Lopez will go from overseeing a department with about 200 sworn officers in a city with over 81,000 residents, to leading the Miami Police Department’s more than 1,100 sworn officers in a city with nearly a half-million residents.
As police chief, Lopez’s employment falls under the purview of City Manager James Reyes, who announced Lopez as his choice for police chief on Friday.
A May 6 offer letter from Reyes states that Lopez will be eligible for 5% annual increases to his $325,000 salary “based upon a satisfactory performance evaluation.”
In addition, Lopez will get a leased vehicle and a $200 monthly cell phone allowance. He’s also eligible for education and incentive pay each year, including $5,400 for a master’s degree, a $1,000 “education salary incentive” and $2,700 for “crime prevention pay.”
READ MORE: Who is Edwin Lopez, Miami’s new police chief from Doral?
Lopez’s starting salary is less than the $350,000 yearly pay for outgoing Police Chief Manuel Morales, who spent decades in the Miami Police Department before he began leading the agency in 2021. Morales has held some of the department’s most coveted positions, like running field operations for two-thirds of Miami’s police force, the Herald previously reported.
Lopez has decades of South Florida law enforcement experience, mostly with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, where he worked for more than 20 years. Lopez became the first Hispanic to be named chief of the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department in the aftermath of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. He ascended to Doral police chief in 2023.
According to Lopez’s Friday resignation letter in Doral, his departure will not take effect until 60 days after May 8, unless the city appoints a replacement sooner. A city of Miami spokesperson said an official start date hasn’t been set yet and that the city is “working on a transition period.”
Climbing the salary ladder
When Lopez was hired as Doral’s police chief in 2023, his starting salary was $199,000, with eligibility for up to 10% merit increases. Since then, his compensation has risen each year to his current salary of $253,736, a 27% increase over three years, according to city records.
Lopez has been steadily climbing the salary ladder while moving between top law enforcement posts, from the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department to Doral to Miami, with his compensation significantly increasing each step. As Miami-Dade schools police chief, he earned between $180,000 and $190,000.
Under Lopez’s leadership, the Doral Police Department in 2023 grew from 154 sworn police officers to at least 190 sworn police officers in 2025. Since Lopez became the police chief, the city of Doral has reported a decline in crime, with overall crime decreasing by 12% in 2023 and down 32% year-to-date in fiscal year 2024, according to the city’s 2024-2025 budget.
In his resignation letter in Doral, Lopez thanked Mayor Christi Fraga for her “leadership, guidance, and support during my tenure as Chief.” Fraga was among the members of the Doral City Council who unanimously voted in 2023 to appoint Lopez as police chief. Fraga also worked alongside Lopez when she was a school board member before being elected Doral mayor.
“After much thought and prayer, I have made the difficult decision to accept an offer from the City of Miami to serve as Chief of Police,” Lopez said in his resignation letter. “This was not an easy decision, but it is one I believe is best for me and my family at this time.”
.jpg)