Exposito Keeps His Job, For Now
MIAMI (CBS4) -The drama surrounding the future of Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito took another turn Thursday. This time he faced off against Miami Commissioner Richard Dunn who wanted but failed to get a "no confidence" vote against the chief.
As Exposito listened at City Hall, Dunn said, "I am convinced he does not possess the competence, does not possess the skills, does not possess the professionalism that is necessary to lead the City of Miami police department."
Dunn said Exposito has been unresponsive regarding six police involved fatal shootings over the last year in the inner city.
The commissioner also played a promotional video called "Miami's Finest." It aimed to depict the department's special operations section. At one point in the video Exposito said, "Our guys were proactively going out there like predators."
Dunn said, "The only community being exploited, the only one is African Americans."
Chief Exposito called Dunn's charges baseless and said he told producers he did not like the video they had created. The chief said, "After I viewed this video I went back to the company and I said I don't like the way this video comes across." He later added, "We do not support or condone the use of aggressive or heavy handed tactics by our officers."
Other commissioners did not back Dunn's call for a no confidence vote and he withdrew the motion. The overriding view was that hiring and firing decisions are up to the city manager and he's made it clear he's evaluating everyone and unready to make any decisions right now.
Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez said, "This is unfortunately something that is extremely negative for our image across the county and it is something we have to end immediately and move forward from."
A nice sentiment but it one that may be hard to maintain with all the acrimony out in the open now and the police chief's long term future still very much a matter of debate.
