‘NOT THE RIGHT FIT’

Miami’s ‘Michael Jordan’ of Police Chiefs Suspended After Multiple Feuds

The city manager determined the relationship between the chief and his department had “deteriorated beyond repair.”

Art Acevedo, once praised as “the Michael Jordan of police chiefs” by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, has been suspended by the city manager “with the intent to terminate his employment.” The Monday evening announcement comes just over six months after Acevedo was hired. The city manager, Art Noriega, said in a statement that the relationship between Acevedo and the Miami Police Department had “deteriorated beyond repair” and “needed to be resolved promptly.” He wrote that “unfortunately, Chief Acevedo is not the right fit for this organization.”

Acevedo was sworn in as Miami’s police chief in April after four years as chief in Houston, where he’d garnered a reputation as a progressive figure with a knack for community-building. But the chief quickly ruffled feathers in Florida, firing and demoting veteran officers. A comment from Acevedo in September, telling officers the force was run by the “Cuban mafia,” didn’t help matters. The chief’s position, unstable in the midst of a feud with the police union, was further shaken by accusations he made against city commissioners, claiming they’d meddled with the department in an eight-page September memo to the mayor and city manager.