Embattled Miami police chief offers olive branch. One critic still wants him to ‘pack his bags.’
Embattled Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo handed his boss a lengthy report Tuesday with plans on how he intends to reduce gun violence, improve police morale and mend fences with the media and critics on the city commission.
The chief, battered by a trio of commissioners over a series of controversial moves during a pair of contentious and downright bizarre public hearings the past two weeks, admitted to some mistakes and tried to extend an olive branch to those he infuriated.
“Our leaders have a unique operational style of their own and are much different than what I previously encountered. As such, I probably moved too quickly to affect change and engage publicly and I have experienced some friction with members of the city commission and some employees,” wrote Acevedo, who is just six months into his job. “I have since adjusted my approach and will continue to do so to assure I meet the expectations of city commissioners, our community, and our MPD [Miami Police Department] family.”
The chief went on to say that “while there have been bumps in the road, I have hit the reset button and look forward to working diligently to accomplish my given mission of building on the successes of my predecessors.”
The 24-page report turned in late Monday by Acevedo was in response to a directive from City Manager Art Noriega, who late last week scolded the chief for a lack of “cultural awareness” and for not being receptive to his advice. The city manager demanded that Acevedo submit a plan on how he intends to reform the department, increase officer morale and repair his damaged relationship with several commissioners.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Noriega said he met with the chief to go over the plan and asked for additional information.
“I continue to evaluate his plan and strategy and will have no further comment until I have had the opportunity to assess it in its entirety,” Noriega said in prepared statement.
Commissioners Joe Carollo, Manolo Reyes and Alex Diaz de la Portilla, already upset with Acevedo, upped their attacks during last week’s hearings after the chief penned a memo accusing them of trying to interfere in police investigations.
Acevedo, a Cuban-American who grew up in Los Angeles, had previously made comments that offended the Cuban-American majority on the commission. His memo, which likened the attacks on him to actions taken in Communist Cuba and said he contacted federal authorities, only fanned those flames.
Later, in a private meeting with senior staff, the chief said he had enough probable cause to arrest the people interfering with police probes, but didn’t name anyone.
The commissioners had a lot of ammunition to call for the firing of Acevedo, who came from Houston with a reputation for progressive policing and brashly speaking his mind. They expressed concern over a series of rapid-fire hirings, firings, demotions and miscues by the chief.
In the six months since Acevedo has been sworn in he has taken control of internal affairs, disparaged the legal community for early prisoner releases and short sentences and fired the highest ranking police couple in the department for not properly reporting a minor accident in which two tires were blown out. He also demoted four majors, including the second-highest ranking Black female officer in the department.
He “accidentally” posed for a picture with one of the local leaders of the white national movement Proud Boys and he referred to the people running the Miami Police Department as the “Cuban Mafia.” The chief later apologized for the statement, admitting he was unaware it was a term used by Fidel Castro to paint Miami Cuban exiles who opposed his dictatorship as criminals.
Two of Miami’s three Cuban American commissioners fled Cuba as children and the families of all three have suffered since Fidel Castro’s takeover 60 years ago.
Early Tuesday evening after reading the chief’s new plan and attempted mea culpa, Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla said it did little to change his mind.
“It’s clear that his so-called plan is wholly inadequate. His six months in our city has been marked by malfeasance, theft, and cover-ups. It’s time for him to pack his bags and go,” said the commissioner.
The friction between Acevedo and commissioners is so bad that they have twice altered the police department’s budget by moving hundreds of thousands of dollars from senior level positions to fund more patrol officers. In one case, commissioners eliminated the deputy police position occupied by Heather Morris, a prized hire by Acevedo who worked with him in Houston.
In his report to the city manager Acevedo outlined six categories he hoped to improve over the next 90 days.
▪ Reduce gun violence by 7 percent by flooding five neighborhoods with the most gun crimes so far this year — Little Havana, Model City, Allapattah, Little Haiti and Overtown.
▪ Improve quality of life issues for residents by focusing on illegal liquor sales and solving homelessness issues.
▪ Beef up Special Operations, which runs the traffic, K9, marine and robbery units.
▪ Improve police morale through an employee survey.
▪ Improve relations with the media by analyzing how many stories have been positive, negative or neutral.
▪ And mend ties with commissioners by meeting with them after 90 days to discuss how to build long-term relationships.
“While I, the chief of police, may not always agree with the mayor and individual members of the city commission, my respect for them as an elected body and for the people they represent must be unwavering, and my disagreements should be expressed in the context of issues, not personalities,” Acevedo wrote.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has publicly shied away from interjecting himself into the fight between Acevedo and commissioners. The mayor was instrumental in Acevedo’s hiring, halting a lengthy search that included several in-house candidates as finalists by pushing Acevedo on Noriega. Once hired, Suarez called him the “Michael Jordan” of police chiefs.
On Tuesday Suarez released a prepared statement saying he has confidence in any decision made by Noriega.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 6:52 PM.
