NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – North Miami Beach suspended its police chief amid an active investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Harvette Smith was placed on paid administrative leave. It’s not clear what allegations the FDLE is investigating; law enforcement sources weren’t aware of their nature and officials weren’t elaborating Thursday.
“This investigation does not have anything to with North Miami Beach police matters,” City Manager Mario Diaz told Local 10 News.
According to her city biography, Smith joined the department in 1990 as a clerk typist and, eight years later, became a sworn officer, rising through the ranks over the following years before being promoted to chief on July 7, 2022. She became the first Black woman to lead the department.
“FDLE’s Office of Executive Investigations has received information from the City of North Miami Beach and our inspectors are reviewing it at this time,” an FDLE spokesperson told Local 10 News.
Smith named in civil court documents
While no one has confirmed what Smith is being investigated for, Miami-Dade court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Thursday may shed light on her suspension.
Those documents detailed ongoing litigation involving Smith’s family and a relative’s request for a protective order.
A court filing shows that in September, Smith’s distant relative, Alona Naylor, had accused her of stalking and sought a protective order.
“The respondent (Smith) has weaponized her role by nefariously influencing the NMBPD to commit illegal acts outside of official duty,” the filing reads. “The petitioner (Naylor) believes the respondent is an imminent threat to her.”
A judge dismissed Naylor’s request, finding no just cause to issue the order, according to Miami-Dade court records.
Naylor has been in litigation with Smith’s mother, Shirley Sears, for years over an alleged falsified property deed. Sears filed the lawsuit against Naylor in Miami-Dade civil court and is listed as a witness in the case.
That ongoing case contains accusations from Naylor’s attorney that a phony affidavit from a woman named Lenita Gibbs, who was testifying in the case, was signed at the North Miami Beach Police Department.
“The fact that this false affidavit was executed at the North Miami Beach Police Department is not happenstance. The Plaintiff, Shirley Sears’s daughter Harvette Sears Smith is employed at (the) North Miami Beach Police Department,” the motion states. “Notwithstanding the allegations contained in the affidavits, Lenita Gibbs also testified that the affidavits were not her words.”
Local 10 News was unable to contact Smith for comment Thursday.
Turmoil among city’s top officials
North Miami Beach has dealt with turmoil among its top officials in recent years and elected a new mayor, Evan Piper, on Tuesday.
Its previous mayor, Anthony DeFillipo, was removed from office after being arrested and accused of illegal voting. His trial is set to begin in February.
That wasn’t the only drama and dysfunction for the city. Three commissioners didn’t show for meetings earlier in the year, leaving city business at a standstill.
One commissioner in particular, Michael Joseph, was removed by his fellow commissioners who say he skipped out on too many meetings within a 120-day period — a violation of the city charter. He has since been reinstated.