MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Wayne A. Jones is making history as the Miami Beach Police Department’s first black police chief.
Commissioners approved Jones’ appointment on Wednesday. Jones said the appointment brought tears to his father’s eyes.
“When I became a Miami Beach Police officer my dad cried. Cried not because I was a becoming a police officer. He cried because of the history of the way black people were treated in this city,” said Jones.
Jones has been with the department for nearly three decades. He succeeds Chief Richard Clements and will take over the department on Sept. 1.