MIAMI – End of business day Monday was the deadline for Miami’s embattled new police chief to respond to a roster of demands from the city manager, the latest salvo in a week of finer-pointing by three city commissioners.
Commissioner Joe Carollo and two others’ inquisition-like take-down of Acevedo last week included making sure the city manager made public the pointed memo he’d hand delivered to the chief.
The memo directs the chief to deliver plans for policing changes, his management vision, raising officer morale and issues with the union. It also wants to know how he’ll change media and public perception of the department, though the chief seems to enjoy decent public support, and also how he plans to repair relationships with elected officials.
From the get-go, commissioners bristled at Acevedo’s surprise hiring from Houston. They have taken issue with some of his hiring and firing decisions, and his brash public persona.
Then, a misplaced ethnic joke sparked the explosion.
In a preemptive strike, Acevedo publicly accused commissioners of corruption and meddling in police work.
The chief’s predecessor discussed all the drama during an appearance on Local 10′s This Week in South Florida on Sunday.
“How much is reality, and how much is perhaps an exaggeration of what it is or being a a bit hyperbolic,” said former Miami police chief Jorge Colina. “That’s the part that everyone is trying to figure out.”
View the two-page memo below: