North Miami Beach police chief suspended during state investigation. What to know
North Miami Beach’s city manager has suspended Police Chief Harvette S. Smith during an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“After being informed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) that they had opened an investigation into Chief Smith, I followed best practices by placing her on paid administrative leave,” City Manager Mario A. Diaz said Thursday afternoon in a statement.
He did not disclose the nature of the inquiry. Smith could not be reached for comment Friday.
“The FDLE investigation is not related to any North Miami Beach Police Department matter,” Diaz said. “The city respects the investigative process and will not have any further comment until FDLE has made a determination of the facts.”
Smith was suspended Tuesday, David Jeannot, a city spokesperson, told the Miami Herald.
“FDLE’s Office of Executive Investigations has received information from the City of North Miami Beach and our inspectors are reviewing it at this time,” FDLE said in an email.
Deputy Chief Nelson Camacho is the acting police chief in charge of leading the agency of over 100 officers and support staff, Diaz said.
“I am confident Acting Chief Camacho and the members of our police department will continue to uphold the highest standards while keeping our community safe,” Diaz said.
Who is Harvette Smith?
Smith became the first Black woman to be promoted to her current position on July 7, 2022, but her law enforcement career of 33 years started with an entry-level job.
She began as a clerk typist with the North Miami Beach Police Department in 1990, according to the city. In 1993, she became a dispatcher for the agency.
Following her goal of becoming a police officer, she graduated from the police academy in 1998. Smith then worked in the agency’s Uniform Patrol Division as a road patrol officer. In 2001, she started with the department’s Accreditation Unit.
In 2018, she was promoted to the rank of sergeant in the Administrative Division, where she oversaw the accreditation, property and evidence, and the Grant Administration units.
Three years later, in 2021, she was promoted to captain, overseeing several other units.
North Miami Beach past controversies
For the past year, the city has been marred by controversies involving the City Commission, and its former mayor, city manager and city attorney.
Last December, an ethics complaint was filed with the Miami-Dade Commission Ethics and Public Trust alleging then North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo lived in Davie, rather than North Miami Beach as required by the city’s charter.
It was later confirmed DeFillipo sat on the board of a homeowners association of the Sierra Ranches Community Association, which is the homeowners association for the $1.2 million property he bought last July in the Town of Davie. In a deposition, DeFillipo claimed he and his wife were having marital issues and that she moved to the Davie home while he lived in a condo in North Miami Beach.
As the controversy unfolded, three commissioners refused to attend commission meetings in protest of the sitting mayor allegedly living in a different city, leaving the city unable to conduct city business for three months. A judge later ordered the commission to attend meetings for the rest of the year.
One commissioner, Michael Joseph, was removed from his seat by the commission but was later reinstated by a judge. In May, DeFillipo was removed from his post after he was charged with three counts of voting outside his district. On Tuesday, the city elected Evan Scott Piper as mayor to fill the seat.
The city has also seen staff turnover with the firing of its city manager Arthur Sorey III and the resignation of city attorney Hans Ottinot in March. Two employees were fired and arrested in May for allegedly using stolen Publix gift cards intended for residents during a giveaway last year, but the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office closed their cases because of insufficient evidence, court documents show.
In 2015, then North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis suspended a training program after an outcry over the agency’s use of mugshots of black men for target practice. He retired later that year after three decades of law enforcement service.
This article has been updated to add that the criminal cases against two former city of North Miami Beach employees have been closed due to insufficient evidence.
This story was originally published December 7, 2023 at 1:53 PM.
