Everyone at Miami City Hall loves to talk about “process.” Transparency. Best practices. Blah, blah, blah.
And then Miami does Miami.
Because if the chatter ricocheting through the corridors of City Hall is to be believed, the next chief of police has already been picked.
Las malas lenguas say Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez, former head of Miami-Dade Schools Police, is now, apparently, the leading candidate to replace the increasingly sidelined current Chief Manny Morales.
No national search. No drawn-out vetting. No dog-and-pony parade of finalists.
Just a handoff.
Read related: Ralph Rosado says Miami Police Chief Manny Morales will run against him
It seems that we are in a hurry. New City Manager James Reyes has already said that he wants to have someone in place by July 
to replace Morales, who isn’t due to retire until October. The early rumors had Miami-Dade Public Safety Chief Arnold Palmer taking the position, but there was apparently a riot and that was nipped in the bud. Reyes likes Lopez just as much and celebrated the chief in a Hispanic Heritage Month post on Instagram in 2024.
“Chief Lopez is an exceptional leader and a dedicated public servant and our community is lucky to have him,” Reyes posted.
They’re very obviously tight.
Also, Morales increasingly looks like a chief on borrowed time.
Between the noise around his outside activities — which include both that shady non-profit Political Cortadito wrote about some days back and his rumored run for District 4 commission — there are internal rumblings and a general “we’re moving in a different direction” energy. At a recent staff meeting, Morales — who had the theme song to The Godfather playing after he was named Miami police chief 2022 — went on and on about how close he was still going to be (as commissioner?) and how nobody 
better cross him. Multiple sources used the word “meltdown.”
Read related: Miami manager makes Police Chief Manny Morales permanent — for now
Which makes the timing of these Lopez rumors convenient. Because the man does check a lot of boxes on paper.
Longtime law enforcement career. Check. Rose up the ranks. Check. Former educator. Check. No major scandals. Check. Speaks “community policing” fluently. Check.
Politically savvy? Check, check.
He is the kind of candidate an administration picks when you don’t want surprises. Lopez comes from a manager-mayor-council type government in Doral, where he was hired in 2023, and is used to balancing the various, and possibly questionable, City Hall demands and expectations with the community’s best interests.
He had one major real-world test in his time there — the 2024 CityPlace Martini Bar mass shooting, where a security guard was killed and seven people, including a police officer, were injured. Doral officers shot and killed the suspect. Lopez publicly praised the officers’ response and training and was often in front of cameras giving updates on the investigation. It framed him as a steady, pro-police chief and reinforced a “training and preparedness” narrative that has been his go-to platform.
Also, no major scandal came out of it — which, in South Florida policing, is almost notable in itself.
Read related: A badge, a gun and a rabbi: Command staff shakeup raises questions at MDSO
That’s not to say that you can’t find anybody who doesn’t think Lopez is so great. Jose Seiglie, a former major with Doral who 
sued the city for wrongful termination and retaliation in June of 2024, cast doubts on his leadership skills and abilities.
While Lopez is not a defendant on the federal complaint, he is a supporting actor in the proceedings. Sieglie — a former Miami-Dade officer who was at Doral for 11 years and made major in 2020 — said in the lawsuit that the department was led by an “inexperienced and overwhelmed police chief” and that issues included mismanagement, a sudden exodus of officers and allegations about how investigations and crime stats were handled.
That’s not a glowing recommendation.
Oh, and there’s one more thing people say: Miami could eat Lopez alive.
But if this is already a done deal behind the scenes, then the goal isn’t finding the best chief, is it? It’s finding the least disruptive one.
What happened to the “national search”? You know, that thing every city promises when it wants to look serious?
Okay, Ladra is not kidding herself. National searches and selection committees half the time only pretend the outcome isn’t already baked. Police chief appointments in the 305 are never just about policing.
They’re about City Hall alliances, commission dynamics, who can keep things calm and who won’t rock the boat. Lopez’s profile — steady, low-drama, system-friendly — fits that mold perfectly.
Read related: The Miami police chief, a private foundation, and a very public complaint
Lopez is not a bomb-thrower. He’s media friendly and social media savvy, but he is not a headline chaser. He’s not likely to 
freelance. And for some people in power, that’s his biggest asset.
And, so, they are willing to skip something important for a city that pretends to be a global center and where billionaires are moving in like a tidal surge: A public conversation about what it actually wants in a police chief.
Because this city isn’t exactly low-maintenance when it comes to law enforcement. Let’s talk about use of force, accountability, community trust, political interference. Those aren’t problems you solve by just picking the safest résumé in the stack.
What about the the 287(g) agreements with ICE to help the federal agency identify and arrest immigrants here illegally? Doral signed the agreement. City Manager Reyes has said he wants to reevaluate it. Was that just campaign speech?
Maybe Chief Lopez is the right guy. Maybe he isn’t.
But if Miami is about to hand him the badge without a real search, without a real debate, and without even pretending to look elsewhere, then this isn’t a selection process.
It’s yet another investiture.
This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.
No search? No problem! Has Miami’s new police chief already been chosen? added by Ladra on
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Congratulations Mr. Welo Carillo for being the first person in this publication that brings the subject of Mr. Carvalho, to at least, a brief mention. I had been waiting for nearly two months to see how, in any manner, or whom in these pages would offer an opinion on the matter. Some people who comment here would wish this issue to go away, or be identified as merely geographical to Los Angeles County, for embarrassingly, they were always laying out a corsage of flowers from the late 90s for him(ernestico) on the way to the top.
This should be like the Dreyfus Affaire. A spider web with many tentacles that should ensnare
a lot of characters that had an interest in growing local financial budgets with accompanying state and federal matching funds But, as usual, KFR was asleep or wishing to evade, and in the long run, what will happen is that the Federal guys will have to go at it alone and will get no help from Dade County. In two years, there will be a makeover at the Justice Dept. in Washington and the message from the new top brass will be to lay off South Florida.
Sorry buddy, working the schools and heading the Doral Police Department doesn’t come close to running MPD. Not even as a captain, heading the homicide unit or another sensitive division. Miami is the real thing.
Doral is more like a major customer service serving its residents and businesses, it is nothing near what the city of Miami is.
I really don’t know all the details about Joe, however, I can say that he was an amazing cop in miami, as short as he may be he has the cojones, the knowledge and long experience.
His department arrested many innocent kids in the school system at the directions of our soon to be indicted Super Carlvaho
Joe Seiglie cannot be trusted. He has a documented pattern of fabricating allegations against officers to advance his career.
”In miami, it’s not about how good you can do your job, it’s about who you know and what they can then do for you… every single high ranking employee working in every commissioners office, legal department, planning, code, police, fire, mayors office, all city boards, PZAB, MPA, DDA can all be traced to a friend or friend of a friend”
First let me say outstanding as so true , someone here in Miami who is Cuban came in the 60’s told me that it was funny how Cubans complain about affirmative action for Blacks when Miami is one big Cuban affirmative action , nepotism , cronyism
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”the Doral PD provide nice police services for the Mayor”
I’m in Doral and I find her pura Cubana Cosa Nostra no one has ever been as owned by special interest but she is smarter then the others as far as no drama , no spotlight .
Even that big ” park ” she built over budget with our tax money is mostly private businesses we paid for but either way yes she uses police as her private detail.
I’ve seen the guy on social media and I know he seems liked in Doral. The Mayor sure likes him and the Doral PD provide nice police services for the Mayor, which is completely unnecessary for pretty much any mayor other than maybe the County. But I digress. City of Miami is a REAL Police Department, with REAL crime. School to Doral, I don’t see this working well, unless he is just a face, and you leave real decisions to career officers. Which honestly may no be a bad move. But I think that has to be said, the Chief is a leader/face but ultimately command staff needs to be known to be making the real decisions.
Why Blame Mayor and Commissioners at Miami ? In MI a MI as in MDC Consultants and Lobbyist Rule !
FYI, he never honored the officers from the City Place / Martini Bar shooting. In fact, the city turned their backs on the officers. Both officers have been mistreated with one of the officers eventually leaving the department without receiving his appropriate awards/citations. The other officer has remained, but not under the best environment. Both officers were heroes that day. Why has nobody fought for them??? Why has the Cheif not acknowledged them?
Perception is realty…. The perception seems everything is ok, but is it really?
Hello, Mr. Edwin Lopez. I cannot call you ‘chief’ because you have never been a cop. Coming from the schools doesn’t count at all. Don’t get me wrong, I love my school cops because we, as real cops, don’t have to handle stupid stuff inside the schools.
Anyway, let’s get back to Edwin Lopez. You will not be respected here at the Miami PD since you have zero law enforcement experience. You’re nothing but fluff, and everyone sees right through you. The best you’ve got is making Instagram videos, and you can run for a long time.
Some advice: take that stupid SWAT pin off because two weeks at a Mickey Mouse class don’t count. We take that pin very seriously, and you, sir, have never breached a door in Overtown.
You will not be respected, like our wanna be cop City Manager, who is also an empty suit.
Terrible choice. Can’t wait to see you lost at a homicide scene. I predict you will be a short timer.
In miami, it’s not about how good you can do your job, it’s about who you know and what they can then do for you… every single high ranking employee working in every commissioners office, legal department, planning, code, police, fire, mayors office, all city boards, PZAB, MPA, DDA can all be traced to a friend or friend of a friend, that’s why salaries are beyond belief and qualifications are as low as can be. It’s one big party and the paying citizens are not invited.
Everyone will comment and cry, but not one person will do anything about it.
You know why, because of you report it, reference paragraph one.
The day you find elected officials that don’t collect campaign money is the day you will find people that will bring chain. Every dollar these elected officials get equals the total number of favors owed to the millionaire machine funding these clowns.
Thank you Higgins and Reys for YOUR promise to change, BUT you FAIL once again and FAIL to do a National search and City hall is starting to look a lot more like County Hall! This is one of the worst picks——
Well, the only good thing here is this that Morales can now “Pink Panther Rosardo” out of the office!