MIAMI – Earlier this year, Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa announced his retirement.
It was the topic of conversation during public commission meetings, departmental meetings and in the law enforcement community.
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Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso said he was grateful he was going to be able to take his time to find the best person for the job. He echoed the message to Mayor Tomas Regalado, Miami police leaders and commissioners.
Finally Thursday, City of Miami spokesman Angel Zayon said the city was considering four finalists.
Two are city employees Rodolfo Llanes, assistant chief of Miami Police and Luis Cabrera, deputy chief of Miami Police. One of the candidates is from Texas, Malik Aziz, deputy chief of the Dallas Police Department.
Local 10 News sources said the favorite was Hugo Barrera, special agent in charge of the Miami Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
RODOLFO LLANES
The St. Thomas University graduate has been wearing the Miami police uniform since 1986. Seven years as a patrol officer, seven as a patrol sergeant and 13 years as a command level officer.
"I served at various times as a lieutenant, commander, major and currently at the rank of assistant chief," Llanes said on Linkedin.
As the assistant chief for about three years, he oversees all criminal investigations, complex gang, narcotic and money laundering crimes.
LUIS CABRERA
The Nova Southeastern University graduate has been wearing a Miami police uniform since 1987.
In 1999, The U.S. State Department selected him to train high ranking Honduran police officials in Tegucigalpa.
He earned the rank of sergeant in 2001, lieutenant in 2007 and deputy chief in 2009. Now Cabrera manages the department's budget, directs the national accreditation process, and is the chairman of the agency's policy review committee.
MALIK AZIZ
A year after he was a finalist for a police chief job at the Fayette, North Carolina, he was interviewing for a job as police chief in Raleigh.
"We have to get inside those preventive programs and deal with youth through police activity leagues or athletic leagues," he said during the public interview in 2013.
He is the chairman of the national black police association, and he has 23 years of experience in law enforcement.
HUGO BARRERA
After serving as a City of Miami police officer and homicide detective, Barrera became a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 1983.
He served as resident agent in charge in Los Angeles, Houston, and Boston field divisions. He also served in the Integrity Division of the Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations at ATF National Headquarters, investigating White House inquiries of the Oklahoma City bombing and Waco, Texas. .