Officers are afraid to do their job, union prez says
It’s not just Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo who doesn’t like Police Chief Art Acevedo. According to an online Survey Monkey “100-day climate” survey of the department, Acevedo is, indeed, disliked by his buddies in blue and has brought the morale way down.
Almost half of the 860-some officers who answered the questions posed by the Miami Fraternal Order of Police — representing more than two thirds of the 1,200 members — said things are worse off in the department since Acevedo was sworn in and more than half say the chief has hampered them from effectively doing their jobs as police officers.
More than 80 percent of the respondents — and two of every three reported to be patrol officers — said the chief “fosters an environment” where they are “reluctant to react when faced with violent” incidents and close to 65% say the chief does not have their backs.
A whopping 90% said the chief — a national media darling who is prone to selfies — is more concerned with his personal image than with the department.
Know more: Miami Police Chief under political fire for selfies, ‘Cuban mafia’ comment
People have speculated that Acevedo is running for Miami-Dade sheriff in 2024 and that that’s the only reason he came here. Acevedo told Ladra that people always think he’s running for office. He thinks it’s his charisma.
Acevedo has been a controversial hire since he came out of nowhere from the Houston Police Department care of Mayor Francis Suarez in March. Way before the convenient “Cuban mafia” comment he made at roll call in reference to the Miami Police Department. No wonder morale is low.
Surprised commissioners were in the process of interviewing possible replacements when, boom, it was done. Sorry, your input is not needed, guys. They didn’t like that. And now they want to change the charter so the commission is part of an official and transparent selection process, forming a committee that then recommends a shortlist to the city manager.
Thanks to a Suarez veto, they can’t put it on the ballot this year and Ladra doubts very much that they will wait until next year to replace the chief, who was blasted by Commissioner Joe Carollo at the commission meeting last week. Carollo, who has not minced words about wanting Acevedo gone, has called for a special meeting Sept. 27 just to discuss the chief.
Acevedo did not return a call from Ladra. In a text message, he declined to make himself available for comment. “Can’t right now. Need to focus on 23 and 27,” he said, referring to the two upcoming meetings.
But his days are numbered. Because even if Carollo didn’t already have the three votes necessary to force City Manager Art Noriega to fire the chief, how can he stay now knowing what we know about how the rank and file feel?
“It’s not what I want, it’s what the members want,” said Miami FOP President Tommy Reyes. “The majority want him gone. At this point, they’ll take pretty much anybody over him.”
The survey asked officers to come with a word to describe the new chief. The word “liar” seems to have been picked the most. Tyrant and dictator are also pretty popular. Narcissist and selfish was repeated. Racist came up.
A few officers offered words like leader, open minded and brave. But more of them chose “asshole.”
“He rules by fear. And he’s not a respectful guy,” Reyes told Ladra.
Some folks might think that it’s not a bad thing if the police union and Crazy Joe Carollo are warring with the police chief. It might even show that the chief is doing his job and cleaning house of the bad guayabas. Everyone knows the Miami Police department could use a little limpieza.
It was something Acevedo — who can with a reputation — said he would do even before he was sworn in. In fact, there are officers who never gave him a chance. Reyes admits Acevedo may have come in with the cards stacked against him. About a month before he was sworn in, the FOP prez sent an email to the members, asking them to give chief a chance:
“We have started off on the right foot with open lines of communications,” Reyes wrote in March. “I know that our new Chief does not have the most popular opinion amongst cops from his previous departments and around the country. Our lodge will go into this relationship with an open mind and formulate our own opinions of our new Chief. I urge our members to do the same, lets show our new Chief what Miami PD is all about, let’s show him what a great police department looks like.
“Make no mistake that the FOP is here for our members and is at the ready for whatever comes our way. But let’s afford Chief Acevedo the opportunity to prove himself to us as we prove ourselves to him.”
Some officers have described Acevedo as a bull in a china shop, looking to make waves and create a perception of accountability without really making it fair or, well, accountable. They say he’s throwing out all the apples, bad and good. There have been the high-profile firings of high-ranking and veteran officers, including former Deputy Chief Ronald Papier and his wife, a commander, for a cover-up of an accident involving a police vehicle. But there have also been more suspensions and disciplinary action for use of force in what Reyes says are unwarranted cases.
Know more: Miami’s new police chief moves to fire husband and wife team after cover-up
“Use of force is never pretty. Any time you have to use force to subdue a person it’s not pretty. But it’s part of the job,” Reyes told Ladra, adding that in some cases, officers have been disciplined for grabbing someone by the arm. “When you tell someone they are under arrest, very early do they say, ‘Oh yes, sir,’ and jump into the back of the car.
“We’ve had a few cases where reasonable person in the same position would use the same type of force and he’s relieving them of duty,” Reyes said. “He’s made the policy so restrictive that people are afraid to do their job. Cops are terrified to touch people.”
Ladra isn’t sure that isn’t a good thing. Maybe cops should be scared to touch people, because their touch can be so impactful.
But Reyes said officers are leaving — retiring early or going to other departments. And that is bad.
The survey was filled out by two thirds of the 1,200 members of the union and represents an unprecedented rebuke of the city’s top cop.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Reyes said.
Maybe it’s because 63% of them, according to the survey, don’t like going to work.
Miami Police online survey shows no confidence in ‘liar’ Chief Art Acevedo added by Ladra on
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