Special City Of Miami Commission Meeting Held To Discuss Future Of Chief Art Acevedo
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo was the topic of discussion at a special meeting Monday, as commissioners raised questions about his fitness for office.
Acevedo, listening from an upstairs window, was hired about five months ago.
Some spoke in favor of the Chief, like Dana Carr, a 27-year veteran Miami officer.
"Our department needs reform," she said. "Chief Acevedo was brought here to institute reform, and he deserves the opportunity to do so."
Others spoke against the chief.
"Ever since his appointment to the chief position, Mr. Acevedo's judgment and decision making have been suspect, rash and calls into question his ability to effectively run a police department," one commenter said.
Recently, Acevedo, who is of Cuban decent, made a comment regarding how the police department was run by the "Cuban Mafia."
There was also concern over his firing of the Papiers, the highest-ranking police couple that both served in the department for not properly reporting a patrol vehicle accident.
WATCH: CBS4's Jim DeFede Shares His Perspective On Special Commission Meeting
Most critical was Commissioner Joe Carollo.
At one point, he called Acevedo out for performing as Elvis at an Austin, Texas fundraiser and drew attention to his tight pants.
Carollo brought up lawsuits from Acevedo's time in Austin that claim he did not do enough to help rape victims.
City Manager Art Noriega, who hired Acevedo, says he knew nothing about these allegations.
A Fraternal Order of Police Survey found 79% of those polled do not have confidence in Acevedo's ability to run the department. The same percentage said that he should be fired or asked to resign.
"I want an investigation," said Commissioner Manolo Reyes. "An outside investigation of the chief and of us."
The commission discussed adopting a resolution to form an investigative committee to look into Acevedo and his hiring.
Ultimately, they decided to bring it up for discussion again Friday at 1 p.m.
Commissioner Ken Russell was not present at the meeting and neither was Mayor Francis Suarez. He issued a statement saying he was listening from his office. It reads. in part:
"Due to the legal issues involved and the existence of an ongoing criminal investigation, I cannot comment further at this time. However, I can share that in the weeks leading up to today's special meeting, I have been in dialogue with city leaders in an effort to address this situation as expeditiously as possible, and I will continue actively engaging all parties in search of a satisfactory resolution to this matter. I look forward to soon refocusing the city's attention on improving quality of life and delivering excellence for all our residents."
