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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2021-10-14 MinutesCity of Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com Meeting Minutes Thursday, October 14, 2021 3:00 PM Hearing Pursuant to City Charter Section 26 City Hall City Commission Francis X. Suarez, Mayor Ken Russell, Vice Chair, District Two Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Commissioner, District One Joe Carollo, Commissioner, District Three Manolo Reyes, Commissioner, District Four Jeffrey Watson, Commissioner, District Five Arthur Noriega, V, City Manager Victoria Mendez, City Attorney Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 3:00 PM CALL TO ORDER Present: Vice Chair Russell, Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla, Commissioner Carollo, Commissioner Reyes and Commissioner Watson On the 14th day of October 2021, the City Commission of the City of Miami, Florida, met at its regular meeting place in City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, for a quasi-judicial hearing. The Commission Hearing was called to order by Vice Chair Russell at 3:21 p.m., recessed at 5:56 p.m., reconvened at 6:11 p.m., and adjourned at 7:49 p.m. ALSO PRESENT: Arthur Noriega, V, City Manager Victoria Mendez, City Attorney Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk ORDER OF THE DAY Vice Chair Russell: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to these historic chambers. Pm your Vice Chair Commissioner Ken Russell. We have a full dais this afternoon. What you see before you is not a standard City Commission meeting. 1 just want to start with a few opening words to set the table here and I'm going to hand it over to the City Attorney to state the specific procedures. We are not here as a discussion item or a round table, we are here in a quasi judicial fashion as a judicial board. We are not here as ourselves as commissioners involved in any issue, we are to divorce ourselves from what we've read in the press, from what we've seen on social media, what's been said in earlier meetings, and we are to look at this as a court, where we hear two sides that are going to make a case and at the end we make a judgment. We're going to treat this court with respect from all sides. There will be no outbursts, no applause, no boos, no commentary. You will be removed. And from our side, our job here is not as a prosecutor or interrogator, our side here is as a judge in this moment. So, you'll be hearing from our dais when we have a question of clarification, to ask a little deeper something we misunderstood. But there is a side, if you would, in the court, a prosecution and a defense. There are accusations being made and a side that is defending those accusations. We are not the prosecutor in this moment. We are here to listen, understand and find the facts, and make judgment in the end. The City Administration will be presenting their case, the Chief will be presenting his defense, and everyone will be given fair time. So, this is very different than what you see here in City Commission normally. And we intend to make this very efficient and very professional. So once the City Attorney reads the procedures, I'm going to go in, I'm going to introduce the various players today who will be representing both sides, and just getting to know each other a little bit and set some ground rules so we all get along fairly, and everyone gets to be heard. So, I have a statement to read pursuant to Section 26 of the Charter of the City of Miami. Today's hearing has been called for the purpose of hearing the causes for the suspension of the Chief of Police. The members of the City Commission participating in this hearing are Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Joe Carollo, Manolo Reyes, Jeffrey Watson, and me, Ken Russell, your Vice Chair Also appearing are City Manager Art Noriega, City Attorney Victoria Mendez, and City Clerk Todd Hannon. Madam City Attorney please state the procedures to be followed during this hearing. V ctoria Mendez (City Attorney): Good afternoon. We are here today on what is characterized as a quasi-judicial proceeding. The hearing is being held pursuant to Section 26 ofthe City Charter The City Manager has suspended the Chief of Police. He has certified the suspension and provided the cause of the suspension to the City Commission. He has stated in his suspension letter certain facts which he believes are grounds for the suspension. Under the Charter, this Commission shall, within five days of receiving the certification and cause of suspension, proceed to hear such charges and render judgment thereon which judgment shall City of Miami Page 1 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 be final. The City Commission is required to render a judgment either arming the suspension, thereby removing the Chief of Police immediately, or find that there are not sufficient facts to warrant the suspension, thereby reinstating the Chief of Police immediately. This hearing is quasi judicial, therefore, in accordance with Section 286.0114(3)(d), Florida Statutes, public comment is not required. Further, quasi-judicial nature of this hearing means that you are to act in a judge -like manner and demeanor. You are to base your conclusions on the evidence presented. You will not have to adhere to a strict rules of evidence that a judicial proceeding adheres to. You can be flexible in what relevant evidence and testimony you want to admit. Mr. Chair, as a presiding member of this Commission today, you can control the hearing and may reasonably limit time allotted for the presentation, testimony, and evidence of both sides. I suggest to you that you first hear from the City Manager. He is seeking to affirm the charges that he has brought against the Chief of Police. The burden of proof in this matter is competent substantial evidence. The City Manager should present his evidence by himself or through his counsel first and then should allow the Chief of Police or his counsel to present his defense. After the conclusion of the testimony and after you review the evidence that you have been presented, you should deliberate and render judgment. I suggest that you ask counsel for the City Manager and the Chief of Police how many witnesses they intend to call and to provide an estimate of time needed to present their case and whether they desire to make any proffers or stipulations. Lastly, I suggest that the City Clerk swear in any witnesses that will be testing. Access to this hearing. This hearing can be viewed live on Miami TV, miamigov.com/TV, the City's Facebookpage, the City's Twitter page, the City's YouTube channel, and Coincast Channel 77. The broadcast will also have closed captioning. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Madam City Attorney, and welcome everybody. So, from the procedural perspective, I do intend to get to know each, if the Chief has counsel, is that correct? Please come up and join us at a lectern; either one is fine. What's your name, sir? John Byrne: Good afternoon. John Byrne on behalf of Chief Acevedo. And I want to just say something right at the beginning here, which is that we object to this hearing proceeding today. Chief Acevedo received the memorandum outlining the claimed reasons for his suspension on Monday. The City Charter says five days. We requested a continuance until Monday which would be within five business days to allow us to prepare our case. That was denied. So, we object to the hearing proceeding today for that reason. And for that reason, we will not be calling witnesses during our portion of the case. We will hear the charges against him, we will see what the witnesses have to say, but again, we object because his rights have already been violated by not giving him the time necessary to prepare his defense. His primary counsel, Marc Jimenez, is in Jacksonville on a prepaid trip. And that was done before, well before this was scheduled, and we object. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. That is noted as your right. You recognize you are forfeiting your ability in this moment to defend your client to this body and answer to the charges that the City Manager has brought. So, you're hanging your entire case on a procedural concept that this is not a correct hearing, is that correct? Mr Byrne: Respectfully, Chief we believe that this outcome has already been preordained given what we know about this case so far and what's been made clear through hearings preceding this hearing today. And so, we don't forfeit our right to present a case in a fair setting. This is not alai,- setting. This decision has been preordained already and we will hear what the witnesses have to say and respond in due course. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Mr Chair? Pee Chair Russell: Yes, you're recognized, Commissioner. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: I have a question of our City Attorney. Does our City Charter Madam Attorney, does it say five business days or five days? City of Miami Page 2 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Mendez: Five days with which to enter judgment. Not to begin the hearing, but the procedure needs to he completed within five days. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Five calendar days is what our charter says, is that correct? Ms. Mendez: Just five days. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Five days, which is five calendar -- Ms. Mendez: Not business. Yeah, correct. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Which would be by Saturday, correct? Commissioner Carollo: No. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: At the latest. Ms. Mendez: By tomorrow. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Tomorrow; by Friday. Okay, thank you. Commissioner Carollo: That is my understanding -- Vice Chair Russell: You're recognized, Commissioner. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. That is my understanding, Madam City Attorney, that since the Charter is silent on business day then it is regular days that we're counting. And if we would have had holidays or weekend days all within that time, they would have had to have been counted also. Ms. Mendez: That would have been so stated, yes, correct. Commissioner Carollo: Am I right to ascertain that the memorandum given to Mr Acevedo by the City Manager was dated September 11 th? Pee Chair Russell: October 11 th. Commissioner Carollo: Excuse me, October 11 th. Ms. Mendez: I believe so. Commissioner Carollo: Okav, so -- Ms. Mendez: Yes, October 11, 2021. Commissioner Carollo: So, if that was Monday, October 11 th, today is the 14th, fourth day, tomorrow would be the fifth day. What the attorney for Mr. Acevedo is asking, that we would violate our own Charter, go even beyond what he says he interprets that it's business day, because Monday would be the sixth business day. Ms. Mendez: It would be outside the Charter provision. Commissioner Carollo: Well, it would be the sixth business day if we go along with his interpretation, which I believe is wrong. It would have been the eighth day based upon what we understand the Charter says. And then if we would do that, then his attorney would go into court and say that we had no right for any hearing because we had waived the timetable set in the Charter of the City of Miami. City of Miami Page 3 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Commissioner. Mr. Brynes? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: One more question. I'm sorry. Vice Chair Russell: Yes? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: I'm just trying to clarify something, some of these legal issues here regarding our Charter. Was there any request made, Madam Attorney, that this hearing be held on October 18th? Ms. Mendez: There was I believe a request made by their counsel for it to be set for the 18th, that that's when they were available. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: By Mr: Brynes? Ms. Mendez: By, I believe Mr. -- Chief Acevedo. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: By Chief Acevedo. So, the initial request was that it be held October 18th, way outside our five days, five calendar days. That was their initial request? Ms. Mendez: Correct. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Assuming they fully understand our Charter right? They know they were operating from the beginning outside our Charter provisions. Ms. Mendez: Correct. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. So, Mr Byrnes [sic], I do recommend you give the most vigorous defense possible for your client as this body is very comfortable that we are within our Charter and to avoid any further would be a violation of our Charter and invalidate our ruling or put it at risk. That being said, my objective of how to run this meeting today with the assistance and permission of this body is in a rules and procedures document that we drafted and sent to your side -- to your side a little while ago. And the basics are this: I'd like to have a few minutes for opening arguments of both sides just to set the table, not to go too deep into substance, but so that we know what we're going to be dealing with. For example, we've already heard part of the defense which is that this is an invalid process. And that will help us as we go through versus surprise after surprise. So, we'd like to set the table and know what witnesses are going to be presented, what documents may be presented. And of course, how much time you're going to need for your complete argument. So, after those opening statements, we'll go to the Administration's side and I'll be asking the Manager and his counsel how much time they need for their full presentation, not including any cross-examination. You'll have the ability to cross-examine the Manager's witnesses as he brings them. And then we'll dismiss those witnesses and move on. And then once the Manager rests his side, we'll go the Chiefs side and do the same thing. Then we'll have very, brief closing arguments after which point this body can make a judgment. Mr Manager does that work for your side in terms of a method to present? Arthur Noriega (City Manager): Yes, it does, Mr. Chair. Pee Chair Russell: Who is your counsel, Mr. Manager? Mr Noriega: I'll let her introduce herself: City of Miami Page 4 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Stephanie Marchman: Good afternoon. My name is Stephanie Marchman, I'm with the law firm Gray Robinson. Vice Chair Russell: And for the record, the management, and it's not the Manager himself, the Administration has third -party counsel; is that correct? Because our City Attorney is representing this body, Ms. Marchman is representing the Administration. Correct? Ms. Marchman: Yes, that's correct, I will represent the City Manager's position in this hearing today. Vice Chair Russell: Position. Got it. And Mr Byrnes [sic] for Chief Acevedo. Mr Byrnes [sic], does that procedure work for you as well from a timing perspective and a layout? Mr Byrne: Subject to the objection 1 had lodged at the very beginning it does. 1 would note that my name is Byrne, B-Y-R-N-E. Vice Chair Russell: I apologize. Me Byrne: That's fine, but I just wanted to clam that. Vice Chair Russell: Can you spell it fbr me? Mr Byrne: B-Y-R-N-E. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: My apologies. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Byrne. Mr Byrne: Byrne. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Not Byrnes. Mr Byrne: Byrne. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: And you work for the same firm, sir, that Mr. Gimenez works for? Mr Byrne: (INAUDIBLE). Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: We need you at the microphone to be caught on record. So not at the same law firm but work together; is that what you said? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Yes sir Mr Byrne: That is correct. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: And you've been retained by Mr. Acevedo, sir? Me Byrne: I am representing him. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: He's paying your bills? Mr Byrne: Am I under examination now? City of Miami Page 5 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: No, I'm just asking a question. Can you answer? It's a yes or no question. Is he paying your bills? Mr Byrne: I'm not under examination today, sir Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay, so he is paying your bills. Mr Byrne: (INAUDIBLE). Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: Ms. Marchman, how do you spell your name? Ms. Marchman: Stephanie, S-T E P HA NI E, Marchman, M-A-R-C-H-M-A-N. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. How much time do you expect to need for your presentation? Ms. Marchman: I would expect that direct examination would be approximately 90 minutes. Vice Chair Russell: Ninety minutes. And does that include any witnesses? Ms. Marchman: We have four witnesses. And that would not include the opening. The opening would be less than ten minutes. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. And how much time do you expect to need for each of those four witnesses? That's within the 90? Ms. Marchman: Ninety minutes for the four witnesses. But 1 couldn't estimate how much time would be needed for cross-examination. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr Byrne? I apologize to keep you coming back up. You can stick around for a bit. Mr Byrne: We won't be making a very lengthy opening statement, sir. And in terms of presenting a case, I already mentioned our position on that. We'll see what the witnesses have to say and if we wish to cross-examine them. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr Byrne: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: All right, so that sets the table for the easy part. Now for the complicated part amongst my commissioners. I had a very vigorous discussion with the city -- my City Attorney yesterday during briefing on whether or not it is required for us to have public hearing with public comment during this proceeding. This is a quasi-judicial proceeding, which under State statute, is exempted from public comment. However within our Code there are a couple different areas that do mandate public comment. One is under Miami 21, if it's a quasi-judicial hearing for a zoning matter, public comment is mandated, we must allow public comment. However, in Section 233(6)(2) of the Code, it also states -- let me just read it just to be clear, any member of the public shall be entitled to speak on any proposition before the City Commission in which the City Commission may take any action through the presiding officer. Then Section 233(c)(3) lays out two exemptions from that which shall not apply. One is with regard to enxergency situations of public health and safety and the other is an administerial act such as approving minutes. The City Attorney opines that this does not apply, 2-33(c)(2) does not apply to this situation as the Charter provision which sets out guidelines for removal of the Chief, does not state specifically with regard to public hearing. This is a quasi-judicial City of Miami Page 6 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 hearing, and it is not a zoning matter. So, it's an interpretative issue but in my opinion on reading all of these facts put before me, that Section 233(c) (2) of the Code does prevail. So, we're at odds on that and that's okay. Even if it's not required under what the City Attorney opines, it is not improper or disallowed either So, I would be inclined to allow public comment. But that is up to the will of this body. So, I'd like to put it before this body, and welcome a motion, because left without a motion I will be bringing public comment, allowing the public to speak, two minutes apiece, on this issue. Is there a motion to that effect? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: So moved. Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla, what is your motion? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: My motion is to not allow public comment, sir Vice Chair Russell: Based on the City Attorney's -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: What the City Attorney is recommending, it's a quasi- judicial process, it does not require public comment. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. That's a fair interpretation. Is there a second? Commissioner Carollo: There is a second. And for discussion, we have allowed all the public comment that anybody would like to give us on the Friday of last week and the Monday of last week. This hearing is not for public comments, this hearing is a Charter mandated hearing for us to make decisions based on evidence not on people's opinion either way. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. There's been a motion, there's a second. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say "aye." Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Aye. Commissioner Carollo: Aye. Vice Chair Russell: Any opposed? Count me as a no. Motion passes 4-1. There will not be public comment during this hearing. Commissioner Watson: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) aye, right? Commissioner Carollo: Can I make one final statement? Vice Chair Russell: I'm sorry? Commissioner Watson: You said aye. Vice Chair Russell: Aye as in the affirmative of the motion to not allow public comment. Would you like public comment or not? Commissioner Watson: No, I thought it was deemed by the attorney we wouldn't have public comment. Vice Chair Russell: It's her opinion that it's not necessary. It is my, opinion after reading her opinion that it is, with due respect. Commissioner Watson: All right. Vice Chair Russell: But the motion -- City of Miami Page 7 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Watson: But she's the attorney, she's the attorney, right? Vice Chair Russell: She is, but we are the body that makes this decision. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Of course, we do. Vice Chair Russell: And my goal is to preserve our judgment. And ifI believe that it is required, and even if it's not required that we should, the presiding officer can make that decision only to be overruled by the body. Commissioner Watson: Right. Vice Chair Russell: Which has just happened. Commissioner Watson: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: And that's fair Commissioner Carollo: IfI can make a statement? Vice Chair Russell: You're recognized. Commissioner Carollo: I want to be very, very clear why we are holding this procedure today. I would have had no problems whatsoever in going along with the request of Mr. Acevedo's attorney to have held these proceedings next Monday or any other time down the road that they wanted to have had it. But the City of Miami Charter is very precise and clear. We have to have these proceedings within jive days that the Manager gave him that letter: And we have to also end the proceedings within the five days. In other words, the proceedings have to begin and end within the five days. We've established that Mr. Acevedo got his letter on Monday, and the fifth day is Friday. Nov; Mr Acevedo's attorney says that in his opinion, which I think if you run this through any attorneys that would be a minority, a very minority opinion of attorneys, in his opinion weekend days don't count. But still that would put us over the five days that the Charter would require. Because then if we do with his interpretation, Monday would be the sixth day. So, I want to be very specific why we are having this hearing today. It is Charter mandated. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Commissioner. All right, the table's set, we can start. Any further comments? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Let's do it. City of Miami Page 8 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 HI - HEARING ITEM HI.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 10893 Commissioners and Mayor HEARING RELATED TO CHARGES ON THE SUSPENSION OF THE POLICE CHIEF HUBERT "ART" ACEVEDO. RESULT: DISCUSSED Vice Chair Russell: All right, Ms. Marchman, you're recognized for an opening statement of ten minutes, please. Commissioner Carollo: Ma'am, would it be best if maybe -- well, you could go here. If his attorney would like to speak then he could go to the other mic, that's fine. Nee Chair Russell: It's not necessary at this point, but ifw Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. So, you could both be at the mic at the same time, if need be, That'll be yours, surely. Stephanie Marchman: Good afternoon, Honorable Commissioners. I'm Attorney Stephanie Marchman of the law fine Gray Robinson and represent the City Manager in this quasi-judicial proceeding before you regarding the suspension and removal of the Police Chief Art Acevedo, under Section 26 of the City of Miann Charter Section 26 of the Charter expressly provides that the City Manager shall have the exclusive right to suspend the Chief of Police for failure to obey orders by proper authority or for any other just and reasonable cause. Further, the Charter provides that if the Chief is suspended, the City Manager shall forthwith certify the fact together with the cause of suspension to the Commission, who within five days from the date of the receipt of the notice shall proceed to hear such charges and render judgment thereon, which judgment shall be final. I have provided on behalf of the City Manager -- or I'm sorry, the City Manager has provided each of you, the City Clerk, the City Attorney, and opposing counsel with an exhibit book containing notice of the Police Chiefs suspension on October 11, 2021, together with the cause of the suspension, which is in the form of a letter also dated October 11, 2021, to the Police Chief outlining eight reasons for the City Manager's action. This notice and letter with the eight reasons can be found behind Tab B of your exhibit book. Tab A simply contains Section 26, which is the governing Charter provision for this proceeding. Behind Tab B you will find documentary evidence under Tabs 1 through 8, which supports, in order, each of the eight reasons for the City Manager's suspension of the Police Chief. We will introduce this documentary evidence through witness testimony of the Human Resources Director Angela Roberts; Interim Police Chief Manny Morales; Assistant Police Chief Armando Aguilar, and finally, City Manager Art Noriega. Further each of these witnesses will testify as to their personal knowledge regarding the eight reasons.* the Chiefs suspension including testimony from the City Manager who ultimately, lost confidence in the Chiefs ability to effectively lead the Miami Police Department given the numerous actions and decisions of the Chief over his six months with the City and his failure to recognize how his actions and decisions needed to change and improve. Instead, in his own words, the Police Chief announced on October 4, 2021, that he believes, "The six months of his administration on balance has been successful as it relates to operations, crime fighting, employee relations, and community relations." The evidence will show, especially as it relates to employee relations and community relations, this is simply not the case. And I'd just like to take a moment to review briefly the eight reasons outlined in the City Manager's letter City of Miami Page 9 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 which were the basis, and fonn reasonable cause for the Chiefs suspension, and ultimately, your judgment removing the Chief from office. As provided in the letter dated October 11, 2021, Number 1, the Chief has lost confidence and trust of the rank and file, and as of October 1, 2021, the executive staff. As a result, he's lost the ability to lead the department. Number 2, the Chief had an ill advised interaction with a civilian which resulted in a reprimand. Number 3, the Chief offended the community by making the Cuba -- Cuban Mafia statement. Number 4, the Chieffailed to initially report damage to his vehicle even after finding out there was damage. He did not report the damage until ten days later: Number 5, the Chief has on at least one occasion announced City policy without authorization to speak on behalf of the City of Miami. Number 6, the Chief failed to report personal time and vacation time. Number 7, the Chief disobeyed a directive by the Manager when he made an employment offer which exceeded the pay range and other emoluments for the position. The Chiefs action plan, this is Number 8, led to the department moving forward was materially deficient. The two significant problems in the department are officer morale and community relations. Honorable Commission, on behalf of the City Manager I implore you to review the documentary evidence in the City Manager's exhibit book, listen closely to the testimony before you through our witnesses today, and find based on substantial competent evidence in this hearing today that the City Manager's action to suspend the Police Chief is well grounded, and for just and reasonable cause, and enter a judgment affirming the suspension of the Police Chief which shall result in is removal. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Does that conclude your opening statement? Ms. Marchman: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: Mr Byrne, you're recognized. If you want to just come over here it would be better. At some point you'll both be up. John Byrne: ChiefAcevedo's suspension and ultimate likely termination was preordained the date he sent, September 24, 2021, a memorandum to the City Manager and to Mayor Suarez. And we know that because that's what the facts prove. Virtually every single allegation made against him, every single alleged basis for his suspension and termination preexisted, predated the sending of that memo. And what does that tell us? That tells us that Chief Acevedo wasn't suspended for those claimed reasons. He was suspended because he had the courage to do what many of us in the community don't have the courage to do which is to speak truth to power. He sent that memorandum, and this is the result. And we're going to see that play out when every single witness who comes up here to test against him today establishes through their very testimony that these reasons, these claimed reasons for suspension and termination, are simply pretextual. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Just a question, Mr: Byrne. So, I understand correctly, you're not going to be challenging the items point by point but saying that because they predate the letter, and then the memo, and then the suspension letter, that they're not as relevant? Is that the case? Mr Byrne: Well, that's not exactly right, Chief [sic 1, because you're going to see that a lot of the claims that are made are simply not true and are not based on fact. Vice Chair Russell: Okay, but you -- Mr Byrne: But, but, the key point here is the timing. Because that tells the truth here. And we're going to see that play out. And the other thing I'd like to note again for the record, is in terms of this calendar issue that's been discussed, business days versus calendar days, the Charter is silent. And I think it's also worth noting here that Chief City of Miami Page 10 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Acevedo received, received, the memorandum on a holiday, Columbus Day, this past Monday, which obviously wouldn't count for the purposes of counting days, calendar or business. But it should absolutely be business days. And he just received, I just received, sitting in this audience here, this binder filled with exhibits and tabs, just now. They didn't give this to us in advance of the trial, didn't give us an opportunity to review it, to analyze it, and that's not a fair process and we object. Vice Chair Russell: Does that conclude your opening statement? Mr Byrne: It does. Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: IfI could -- Vice Chair Russell: You're recognized, Commissioner. Commissioner Carollo: If I could ask you a question, Mr Byrne. Vice Chair Russell: Mr Byrne? Commissioner Carollo: You would acknowledge that whether it's eight, twenty, or one reason that a City Manager would suspend a Police Chief that if there's only one reason that is sufficiently strong enough, that that reason should be strong enough? Mr Byrne: 1 don't really understand the question. Commissioner Carollo: Well, my question is, do you believe that you need more than one strong reason to suspend a Police Chief by a City Manager, or do you believe that only one is required? Mr Byrne: Commissioner Carollo, I'm not under oath, I'm not a witness in this action Commissioner Carollo: I understand that. And, you know, I'm not going to put you under oath, obviously you're his attorney, so that's not where we're going. What I'm trying to establish is what is it that you consider, in representing Mr Acevedo, that is sufficient for a Police Chief to be suspended? Is it eight reasons, twenty, or is one reason sufficient? Mr Byrne: If there's a single legitimate reason it could be sufficient. Unfortunately, here, there's not a single legitimate reason -- Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr Byrne: -- he was suspended. He was suspended for the reason I stated which is his memorandum. Commissioner Carollo: So, I understand, sir, I understand that, but you stated, I want to make sure that I understood what you said, that if there is a single legitimate reason, that that would suffice. You don't believe that there are, I understand that, but I did hear you say, I believe, that if there is a single legitimate reason that that would suffice. Mr. Byrne: I know there's not a single legitimate reason. Commissioner Carollo: I understand that. That's your position. Mr Byrne: And I'm not going to get into a back and. forth with you -- City of Miami Page 11 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Carollo: It's not a back and forth. Mr Byrne: -- over reasonable evidence. Commissioner Carollo: It's not a back and forth, sir I'm just trying to establish, you as the attorney representing Mr. Acevedo, what is the position of Mr. Acevedo, how many reasons are required. One, eight like the City Manager put down, fifteen, twenty, thirty? And based upon what you said, you said if there is a single legitimate reason that would suffice. And I understand your position is that none of them are legitimate. Mr Byrne: That is true. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr Byrne.. None of them are legitimate. And the other thing is, Commissioner Carollo, it's based on precedent, it's based on the law, administrative law I'm not here to barter or bargain or debate how many angels can fit on the head of a pin. Commissioner Carollo: Sir Mr Byrne: We're going to see what your City Manager presents, and we'll respond accordingly. I have nothing further to say on this, Commissioner Carollo. Commissioner Carollo: I wouldn't expect you to do otherwise. But I thank you for your answer. Pee Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: Do I have the right, Madam City Attorney, because I asked that question because I'm trying to determine what their position is in everything. And I understood what he said, he's trying to say that all the different reasons that the Manager gave basically were there before. And he's trying to ascertain that the reason for the firing was Mr. Acevedo's memorandum that came ten days after he knew that this Commission had set a special hearing on him. So, my question, Madam City Attorney, is can I state on the record so it can be clear for me, and he could have the opportunity to be thinking ahead in defending Mr. Acevedo, there's at least one that I see right off the bat that happened after the memorandum was sent by him. Can I -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner. Commissioner Carollo: -- read the Manager's reasoning on the record so that they could have it already, clear on the defense that they would put for Mr Acevedo, or would you prefer that I want until later? Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Commissioner Carollo, I know you're trying to be helpful to assist, but he has able counsel, and Mr Byrne can assist him with that. I think that it would be best now to try and let the Manager put on his case and then if there's some -- a question you have at that time to clarj then you can do so at that time. Commissioner Carollo: Okay, I will follow what you're telling me, Madam City Attorney. Ms. Mendez: Thank you, Commissioner. City of Miami Page 12 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. And, Madam City Attorney, just to clarify Commissioner Carollo's other question, Section 26 of the Charter is pretty clear the Chief of Police may be suspended by the City Manager only for one or more of the causes enumerated in the section. So, one is sufficient; is that correct? Ms. Mendez: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Ms. Mendez: And I believe that that was clear also from Commissioner Carollo's question. Vice Chair Russell: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but Chairman, since we already started with difference of opinions on our Charter from the counselor representing Mr Acevedo as to whether it's workdays or includes weekends and holidays, that's why I asked him that question also. Because I wanted to see what his position on behalf of Mr Acevedo was. Vice Chair Russell: Understood. Thank you. Ms. Marchman, you're welcome to begin. If the Clerk could put 90 minutes on the clock, please, just so we can keep track. Ms. Mendez: Chairman, I just wanted Mr. Byrne to know that he can stand at the other podium just in case he has any type of objection or anything with any of the questions since this is a quasi judicial matter and 1 want him to make sure that he has every opportunity to -- thank you so much. Ms. Marchman: Ms. Mendez, where would you like the witness and where would you like me? Ms. Mendez: If possible, and it's either you want your witness there and you could sit here to look at your items, or vice versa. But either option. Ms. Marchman: The City Manager calls as his first witness Angela Rogers [sic] who is the Director of Human Resources. Ms. Mendez: Angela Roberts. Ms. Marchman: I'm sorry. Angela Roberts (Director, Human Resources): It's Angela Roberts. Ms. Mendez: The one and only. Vice Chair Russell: Good afternoon, Director. Ms. Roberts: Good afternoon, gentlemen. Vice Chair Russell: Just a moment, Ms. Director, just a moment. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Oath. Vice Chair Russell: Yes, I apologize. Mr. Clerk, would you mind administering the oath to all witnesses who plan to appear before us today at this point. Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): May I please have the witnesses stand and raise their right hand. City of Miami Page 13 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 The City Clerk administered the oath required under City Code Section 62-1 to those persons giving testimony on quasi-judicial item(s). Ms. Roberts: Yes, I do. Mr Hannon: Thank you, Chair. Pee Chair Russell: Good afternoon, Director Ms. Roberts: Good afternoon, gentlemen. Ms. Marchman: Good afternoon, Ms. Roberts. Would you please state and spell your name for the record? Ms. Roberts: My name is Angela Roberts, A-N-G-E-L-A, my last name R-O-B-E-R-T- S. Ms. Marchman: Thank you. Ms. Roberts, who is your employer? Ms. Roberts: The City of Miami. Ms. Marchman: And how long have you been employed by the City of Miami? Ms. Roberts: It's been about 23 years. Ms. Marchman: What is your current position with the City? Ms. Roberts: My current position is the Human Resources Director. Ms. Marchman: What are your responsibilities in that position? Ms. Roberts: As a Human Resources Director, I oversee several divisions. I oversee the testing division, compensation and pay division, labor relations, training, medical division, recruitment and hiring, and records. Ms. Marchman: Would you please just briefly describe your previous positions with the City? Ms. Roberts: I started in the City of Miami as a temp (temporary) employee, and I started with the Department of Human Resources. Throughout my career I've worked in every division of Human Resources. I ended up being the Labor Relations Manager in Human Resources. After that, then I got promoted as a Director over Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs, which is kind of the City of Miami's version of EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). And shortly after that, I was there for two years, and then I was promoted to the position of Human Resources Director Ms. Marchman: And how long have you been Human Resources Director? Ms. Roberts: It's a little bit over three years now Ms. Marchman: How many employees does the City of Miami have? Ms. Roberts: Right non; we have probably about a little bit over 4,600 employees. Ms. Marchman: And about how many employees in the Miami Police Department? City of Miami Page 14 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Roberts: Well, sworn we have about 3,300 and then maybe about 400 civilian. Ms. Marchman: Right. Are you sure it's 3,300? Mr Noriega: That's too many. Ms. Marchman: Okay. And I can ask the Chief. Ms. Roberts: Yeah, that's approximately. You probably would do better asking specifically police. Ms. Marchman: Do you know when Mr. Acevedo was hired by the City? Ms. Roberts: Yes, he was hired April the 5th, 2021. Ms. Marchman: I'm going to ask you about the binder in front of you and in particular two of the reasons listed in the City Manager's suspension letter of the Chief. I'd like to ask you about Reason 6, related to personal time and vacation time. And then also Number 7, relating to a job offer. Ms. Roberts: Okay. Ms. Marchman: So, if you could just turn, and you can use, as needed, tabs 6 and 7, but with respect to failing to report, the Chief failing to report, and when 1 mention the Chief at this point it's Chief Acevedo, failing to report vacation and personal time, what is the policy at the City of Miami with respect to employees reporting personal and vacation time? Ms. Roberts: So, we have an Administrative Policy, 2-87, and it's the vacation policy. And that policy specifically states in the scheduling section, in case of department directors, Assistant City Managers, and the City Manager's key staff the City Manager or his designee will be the person responsible for approving vacations. Ms. Marchman: And did you just read from Tab 6; it looks like page 72, just looking at the lower right-hand corner Is that the policy that you just referenced? Ms. Roberts: Yes, it is. Ms. Marchman: And to your knowledge did the Chief follow that policy during the six months that he was employed with the City of Miami? Ms. Roberts: No, he did not. Ms. Marchman: And how do you know he did not? Ms. Roberts: During a meeting on September the 27th, and I believe a meeting on October the 1st, it was brought to the Manager's attention that the Chief used a certain amount of days, and it was not listed in the Oracle system of the City of Miami. That's how we know when a person is using accrued vacation leave time. The Manager at that point in time asked me to do a reconciliation of the Chiefs time to see if that was correct information. I did do a reconciliation along with working with the Chiefs assistant and that's how I found out that the policy was not followed. Ms. Marchman: And what did you. find during that process, that reconciliation process? City of Miami Page 15 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Roberts: During that process, what we found was that though the Chief did take some time, and though the assistant did put out some out -of -office emails when she was aware of the Chief taking time off nothing was actually submitted to the Manager from the Chief as far as requesting vacation time. Therefore, the Manager did not have the ability to approve or authorize any of the vacation time that was taken. Ms. Marchman: And was any of the vacation time entered into the Oracle system? Ms. Roberts: No, not at that time. Ms. Marchman: And what has happened since that time? Ms. Roberts: Since the reconciliation between myself and the assistant, the time has been corrected. And now currently the Oracle system shows the accurate and correct information. Ms. Marchman: Whose responsibility in this situation was it for -- to request and report leave? Ms. Roberts: The Chief Ms. Marchman: Would the Chiefs paycheck have reflected that no leave was taken? Ms. Roberts: Yes. On your paycheck stub it shows the amount of your accrual leave, vacation leave, and your accrual sick leave. Any time that time is deducted from one paycheck to the next, it will show Ms. Marchman: Was there -- Ms. Roberts: Or any time that's added also shows. I'm sorry. Ms. Marchman: Was there a point in time when the Chiefs assistant took responsibility for the Chiefs leave not being accounted for? Ms. Roberts: Yes, she did. On September the 29th, I believe, she wrote a memo. Ms. Marchman: And was it her responsibility? Ms. Roberts: No, it was not her responsibility. Ms. Marchman: And did you talk to her about this? Ms. Roberts: Yes, I did. I spoke with her in detail because once she sent the memo, after that, we were still doing the reconciliation, documents showed that it really was not a necessity for her to write a memo because she did have the necessary documents that she needed. She informed me that she was intimidated by the Police Chief He had a conversation with her telling her that it was her fault and that she needed to explain what happened. And that's why she wrote the memo taking -- saying that it was her responsibility. Ms. Marchman: Since this matter came to your attention and the Manager's attention, has the situation been rectified? Ms. Roberts: Yes, it has. Ms. Marchman: And how was it rectified? City of Miami Page 16 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Roberts: Well, during the reconciliation what she did -- what the assistant did was she did a change of attendance, she sent it to the Police Payroll and then Police Payroll in essence sent it to Finance Payroll which does the overall City payroll, and also corrects everything in the Oracle system. Ms. Marchman: On Page 74 of Tab 6, what is that? Ms. Roberts: So, Page 74 is the assistant's actual reconciliation that her and I discussed along with my reconciliation. So, it's actually showing the conferences or conventions that the Police Chief attended along with vacation days that he took. Ms. Marchman: And is it correct to say that before this matter came to the Manager's attention, none of this time was reported or approved? Ms. Roberts: None of the vacation time was recorded and approved. Ms. Marchman: And how much vacation time had the Chief taken in the six months that he had been here? Ms. Roberts: When we counted it was 15 days. Ms. Marchman: And had the Chief actually accnied 15 days of vacation time in his time as an employee for 6 months? Ms. Roberts: No, he had not. Ms. Marchman: How much time had he accrued? Ms. Roberts: I have to be honest, I'm not sure how much time, but what I can tell you, once we accrued -- once we reconciled everything, we realized that the Chief owed the City 40 hours in time. Ms. Marchman: And will the City be able to recover the 40 hours in time? Ms. Roberts: Yes, we are, in the next paycheck. Not the paycheck that we will receive tomorrow, which is Friday. He gets one more paycheck after that. That paycheck. It will be recovered. Ms. Marchman: Are City employees permitted to take paid personal time before they actually accrue it? Ms. Roberts: No, they are not. Ms. Marchman: And if you could just briefly review for the Commission the remaining records in Tab 6, what does these records show? Ms. Roberts: So, when you go back and look, and youll see a couple of mails that tell when the Chief will be out of office, those are times when the assistant knew that the Chief was going to be out of office, and she was able to send an out -of office respond -- response on the Chiefs behalf. You also will see when he went to some conferences and conventions, she -- she had -- she filled out the paperwork and then had the Chief to sign it and have the Manager to sign. Ms. Marchman: Now why aren't these emails and records sufficient in this scenario? Ms. Roberts: Well, they're sufficient because it goes to show that when the assistant knew that the Chief was not going to be in the office and when it was brought to her City of Miami Page 17 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 attention, she would do as an assistant should do and send an out -of -office reply, because -- and also tell who would be the acting Chief because you needed someone to be the acting Chief. When she knew When she was aware of it. Ms. Marchman: Were there times that she was not aware that the Chief was going to be out of office? Ms. Roberts: Correct, there were times. Ms. Marchman: And how do you know that? Ms. Roberts: When 1 spoke to her, and we were doing the reconciliation, she did inform me that there were times. Especially in the beginning when the Chief first was hired with the City, there were times that she was not aware because he didn't inform her Also, he also didn't inform her whether or not he worked out something with the Manager as far as his vacation time was concerned. So, there were times that he was out of the office, and she was not able to send anything because she really didn't know what to do or what was going on. Ms. Marchman: Was the Chief required to do something more than have his assistant send out -of -office emails and fill out travel paperwork in order to request leave and have leave approved in the system? Ms. Roberts: Yes, especially for vacation. Ms. Marchman: And what additional steps needed to happen? Ms. Roberts: I'll use myselffor an example. Ifyou are a direct report to the City Manager -- you do have to keep in mind the Manager gets a million emails a day. So as for me, I'm a direct report for the City Manager, and what I do is I ensure that the City Managers assistant knows that I'm going to be on vacation and I ask her to inform the Manager, butt also have her to put my time on the Manager's calendar. So that way he's definitely aware when I'm out of the office or when I'm on vacation. And during staff meetings I will say, guys, remember, I'm going to be on vacation, and I'll tell them my availability. Ms. Marchman: And what about ensuring that the Oracle system has the time off? Ms. Roberts: So that's another thing. So, with what -- what should happen is the Chief of Police or whoever's the direct report to the Manager should inform their payroll personnel. I need you to put this time in, or, you can have your assistant tell the payroll personnel, put this time in so that it can go into the Oracle system so it can be deducted, from their accrued balances. Ms. Marchman: I'd like to move to Reason 7 in the letter that relates to the Chief disobeyed a directive by the Manager when he made an employment offer which exceeded the pay range, in particularly Tab 7. The first page of Tab 7 appears to be a job offer What was your involvement with this? Ms. Roberts: So, when the Deputy Chief -- she was hired August the -- I believe August the 1, 2021. During a meeting, the first budget hearing meeting, her position as Deputy Chief was cut. Ms. Marchman: And who is she? Ms. Roberts: Heather Morris. Sorry. Heather Morris, her position as Deputy Chief was cut. During that time, there was an existing vacant Executive Officer to the Chief City of Miami Page 18 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 of Police position. At that point in time the Manager asked me to check and see if the position was still vacant, which 1 did, and the Manager allowed -- gave the approval for the Chief to place Ms. Morris into that Executive Officer position since the Deputy Chief position was cut. During that time, I sent an email to the Chief and I informed him that he -- I'm sorry, let me backtrack for a minute. I spoke to him on the phone and then I sent an email to him, and I informed him that he needed to approve -- the Manager had already authorized it, and he needed to approve this action happening, which he did on the email. Ms. Marchman: And I'm just going to pause you there because 1 want you to look at number [sic] 97 and 98 in Tab 7. Ms. Roberts: Yes, 1 see it. Ms. Marchman: Is this the email you just testified to? Ms. Roberts: Yes, this is the email. Vice Chair Russell: Page 97 in Tab 7? Ms. Roberts: Yes. Ms. Marchman: Tab 7, Page 97 and 98. Ms. Roberts: Yes, this is the email. Ms. Marchman: And what was the purpose of this email? Ms. Roberts: The purpose of the email, because as the Chief once it was authorized by the Manager, as the Chief he needed to approve it. And also, I needed to, once he approved it, inform him that my staff will work with his staff to make it happen. Ms. Marchman: And it says in the email, from you, on Page 98, please approve placing Heather Morris into the vacant unclassified Executive Officer to the Police Chief at the maximum step in the salary effective October 1st. And it appears that the Chief does approve that. Ms. Roberts: Yes, he does. Ms. Marchman: And what was the maximum step in salary? Ms. Roberts: The maximum step in salary was $1, 669. Pretty much. Ms. Marchman: And it looks like you're referring to Page 95; is that right? Ms. Roberts: Yes, I anz. Ms. Marchman: And what is that? Ms. Roberts: That's the job description for the Executive Officer to the Police Chief. Ms. Marchman: And if we could just go back to the job offer on Page 89, what was the salary, offered to Ms. Morris? Ms. Roberts: $1,787 and $12 dollars. One thousand seven hundred eighty-seven and twelve dollars. City of Miami Page 19 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: I'nz sorry. I think you said 1,700 -- Ms. Roberts: I'm sorry, $178 and 12 dollars. $178, 012-95 [sic]. I am so sorry. Ms. Marchman: Were you concerned about the salary offered? Ms. Roberts: Yes, because it's incorrect. Ms. Marchman: And why is it incorrect? Ms. Roberts: It's incorrect because the Manager only authorized allowing him to place her into that position at the maximum step of what's on the job description, not the salary that's listed on this offer letter Ms. Marchman: Did you have any other concerns about the job offer? Ms. Roberts: Yes, I had a couple of concerns in addition to the salary. There were some things that was incorrect on the offer letter such as the life insurance. It's not accurate as to what would be offered in that particular classification. The employee pension plan. That's not what would have been offered to her, or anybody, in that particular classification. I also had some concerns because it's not really an offer that she was given. She was being placed into the position in which the process would have been once everybody finished everything it would have been a red line memorandum going to her from Human Resources saying what the salary would have been and given the effective date and things of that nature. Ms. Marchman: Is the Chief -- does the Chief have the authority to issue written job offers? Ms. Roberts: No, the Chief does not. Ms. Marchman: Who has the authority to issue written job offers? Ms. Roberts: The City Manager has the authority and then he has the ability to designate the Human Resources Director to give job offers. Ms. Marchman: And on page 91 through 93 there appears to be email correspondence between yourself and the Chief. What was this correspondence about? Ms. Roberts: Which page, 93? Ms. Marchman: 91 through 93. Ms. Roberts: So -- so, when we start -- let's start with 91. 91, that is an email from myself to -- the beginning of an email from myself to Ms. Morris explaining to her that unfortunately she's going to have to be laid off because by this time now both positions are cut. Ms. Marchman: I'm not sure we're on the same page. So, I'm looking at Page 91 which is an October 4th email between you and the Chief 7:51 p.m. Ms. Roberts: Correct. Ms. Marchman: Okay. Ms. Roberts: Correct. But when you look further down, you'll see where I'm -- City of Miami Page 20 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: Oh, 1 see, 1 see. Okay. Ms. Roberts: Yeah. And the reason why that's important because it gets to the conversation with the Chief. So, I'm explaining to her that unfortunately now she's going to be laid off, and -- because I tried to reach her and talk to her and I couldn't, time was of the essence, so I ended up having to email her. And also email her the letter of her being laid off: At that point in time is when she brings to my attention what about her offer letter. Now the email that you're referring to where the conversation happens with the Chief I informed Ms. Morris I'm not aware of an offer letter: And then she sends it to me. Then the email, specifically, 91, 1 tell Ms. Morris why that offer letter is null and void. And I'm giving her the specifics in the email why it is null and void. The Chief then turns around and sends an email and that's where he states that the offer letter was done by HR (Human Resources) professionals, and it was done and offered in good faith. Ms. Marchman: Was the offer letter prepared by HR professionals and offered in good faith? Ms. Roberts: Not the official Department of Human Resources. Ms. Marchman: Who was it prepared by? To your knowledge. Ms. Roberts: The person who does the HR process in the Police Department. Ms. Marchman: And was the offer letter consistent with your direction to the Chief and the City Manager's direction to the Chief with respect to this position? Ms. Roberts: No, it was not. Ms. Marchman: I don't have any further questions. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Just a minute, Ms. Roberts. Mr Byrne, would you like to cross-examine the witness? Mr Byrne: Yes, Chief thank you. Vice Chair Russell: You're welcome. Mr Byrne: Good afternoon, Ms. Roberts, how are you today? Ms. Roberts.: Good afternoon. Mr Byrne: You said something earlier when you were being questioned by the City attorney about recouping some of the monies that were paid to Chief Acevedo based on this discrepancy in the leave request. Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: And you said in response to that question that you would intend to recoup that money; is that right? Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: And you said you were going to recoup that money in his last paycheck. Ms. Roberts: Yes. City of Miami Page 21 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Byrne: And you said he was going to get one more paycheck, right? Ms. Roberts: Yes, he'll get a paycheck tomorrow and then one more paycheck the end of October. Mr Byrne: And that would be his last paycheck? Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: Because the City's already made the decision to terminate Chief Acevedo, isn't that right? Ms. Roberts: I am not aware of that. We'll see after the proceedings here today. Mr Byrne: Well then why did you say he's only going to get two more paychecks? Ms. Roberts: Well, if they determine that he is still working here, he'll get another paycheck after the end of October Mr Byrne: If he's reinstated, right? Ms. Roberts: Correct. Mr Byrne: But when you answered that question from the City attorney, you said he's only going to get two more paychecks; isn't that right? Ms. Roberts: He will, sir. If they make the -- if the Commissioner makes the decision that he is terminated, his last paycheck will be October, the end of October. Mr Byrne: Because the decision to terminate ChiefAcevedo has already been made; isn't that right? Ms. Roberts: Not that I'm aware of. Mr Byrne: Now, Ms. Roberts, do you know whether Chief Acevedo designated someone to implement his request for leave time? Ms. Roberts: Not in my -- not that I'm aware of and not in my discussions with his assistant. Mr Byrne: But you don't know for a fact whether or not he did or did not. Ms. Roberts: No. Mr Byrne: Now, during your career with the City of Miami, have you ever encountered a situation where any police officer for example, failed to record leave time? Ms. Roberts: Yes, I have, during my career Mr. Byrne: About how many? Ms. Roberts: I'm sorry? Mr Byrne: About how many, approximately? Ms. Roberts: I have been in the City a long time, sir, I have no clue how many. City of Miami Page 22 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Byrne: 1 appreciate that. More than five maybe? Ms. Roberts: I can't answer that; I have no clue, sir. Mr Byrne: But it's happened before. Ms. Roberts: It has happened before. Mr Byrne: Were they terminated? Ms. Roberts: Not that I'm aware of but that doesn't mean that they were not. But the money was taken back. Because the only part that 1 would have dealt with is whether or not the money was given back to the City. Mr Bvrne: So, sitting here today, based on your experience, you can't recall a single instance where a police officer who failed to report leave time was terminated? Ms. Roberts: No, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Like I said, I only would have been involved in whether or not the money was given back to the City. Mr Byrne: Ms. Roberts, you're not suggesting today that ChiefAcevedo was hiding from the police when he was taking leave time? Ms. Roberts: I don't know what his intent was, 1 can't speak for ChiefAcevedo. I can only stipulate as to what was reconciled. Mr Byrne: And so, you can't say, and you're not saying today, that you believe Chief Acevedo was trying to hide or disguise or steal money from the City based on leave? Ms. Roberts: I don't know, I can't speak for ChiefAcevedo and his actions. I don't know. Mr Byrne: Now, Ms. Roberts, you were asked to reconcile Mr Chief Acevedo's leave time; were you not? Ms. Roberts: Yes, sir Mr Byrne: Who asked you to do that? Ms. Roberts.: The City Manager Mr Byrne: Is that the gentleman sitting to your right, there? Ms. Roberts: Yes, sir. Mr Byrne: Mr. Noriega? Ms. Roberts: Yes, sir Mr. Byrne: When did he ask you to reconcile ChiefAcevedo's leave time? Ms. Roberts: Once it was brought to his attention. I can't remember if it was the September 27th meeting or the October 1st meeting. It may have been after both meetings. City of Miami Page 23 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Byrne: But regardless of which meeting it was, it was after September 24, 2021; is that right? Ms. Roberts: Yes, because that's the first time it was ever brought to the Manager's attention. Mr Byrne: And who brought it to the Manager's attention? Ms. Roberts: It was during the Special Commission Meeting. Mr Byrne: And who brought it to City Manager Noriega's attention at the Special Commission Meeting? Ms. Roberts: I believe it was Commissioner Carollo. Mr Bvrne: Commissioner Carollo? Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: Okay. Now you were asked some questions about an offer to Ms. Morris. Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: Do you remember that line of questions? Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: Now is it the case that you said during your answers to the City attorney'' [sic] questions that you had some concerns about the offer that Chief Acevedo made to Ms. Morris? Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: Did you express those concerns to Chief Acevedo? Ms. Roberts: I didn't even know anything about the letter until after Ms. Morris was laid off So, at that point, there was no need to list my concerns. And it's in an entail to Ms. Morris and Chief Acevedo is on the email, of the concerns that I had. Mr Byrne: So, you sent an email to Chief Acevedo expressing your concerns about the offer letter? Ms. Roberts: My email is specifically to Ms. Morris because she's the one that brought the offer letter to my attention. So Chief Acevedo is copied on the email. Mr Byrne: And in the email, you expressed concerns? Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr. Byrne: Okay. Now you agree with me, and we looked at an email earlier together, and I'll direct your attention to it now, it's Page 97 of your binder, and this is an email dated September 30, 2021, and it's to you from Chief Acevedo. Do you see that in your binder, Ms. Roberts? Ms. Roberts: Correct, yes. City of Miami Page 24 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Byrne: And in fact, in this email Chief Acevedo very clearly said, because this is the only option authorized, please proceed. Ms. Roberts: Yes. Mr Byrne: Is that an email that would be sent by someone who is purposely trying to get around the rules of the City of Miami? Ms. Roberts: I can't speak to the intent of Chief Acevedo. I can't. Mr Byrne: You can't, can you? Ms. Roberts: No, 1 cannot. Mr Byrne: I have no further questions. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Ms. Marchman? Mr. Greco? John Greco (Deputy City Attorney): Mr Chair, just a point of clarification. Vice Chair Russell: Would you like to identify yourself for the record, please. Mr Greco: John Greco, Deputy City Attorney. Just a point of clarification. The questioning on direct examination is not by the City Attorney, its by the City Manager's attorney. Mr Byrne: City Manager's attorney, sure. Vice Chair Russell: Ms. Marchman? Ms. Marchman: At this time the City Manager would like to call Manny Morales, Interim Police Chief. Commissioner Carollo: Mister -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Carollo, would you like to be recognized? Commissioner Carollo: -- City Attorney? Just a point of clarification. Could I ask for Ms. Roberts to come back before we proceed with Mr. Morales? Mr Greco: Yes, through the Chair, yes. Commissioner Carollo: This is very quick. Ms. Roberts: Yes, sir: I'm sorry. Commissioner Carollo: Ms. Roberts? Ms. Roberts: Yes, sir Commissioner Carollo: Just to clam one point. Ms. Roberts: Uh-huh. Commissioner Carollo: And the date was the Monday of the first hearing that we had of Mr. Acevedo, whatever date that was, I believe the 27th but I could be wrong. City of Miami Page 25 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Roberts: Uh-huh. Commissioner Carollo: Nevertheless, for the record it's the fast hearing we had reference Mr. Acevedo, on the Monday. Did I not come to you and ask if you could find out, if it was possible for you to find out, the dates that Mr Acevedo had shown that he was not working in his payroll and did you not say to me publicly when I asked the question that he did not have any days that he had taken off, vacation, sick, or otherwise? Ms. Roberts: You are correct. Commissioner Carollo: Okay, so that was in a public meeting that I asked you the question that 1 did not know the answer to at the time, 1 was trying to find out. Ms. Roberts: Uh-huh. Commissioner Carollo: And it appears that there were a lot more people than me that day that were not aware of the answer that you gave us, including by the face that I saw the Manager was putting on that meeting on that day. Ms. Roberts: You are correct. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. That's all that I have. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Can we dismiss this witness? Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Thank you. Ms. Marchman: Yes, no further questions. Thank you. Nee Chair Russell: Thank you, Ms. Marchman. Manuel Morales (Interim Police Chief): Good afternoon. Ms. Marchman: Chief Morales, would you please -- I'm sorry, were you here for the oath? Mr Morales: Yeah, we -- we took it. Ms. Marchman: Will you please state and spell your name for the record. Mr Morales: My name is Manuel, M-A-N-U-E-L, middle initial is alpha, A., last name Morales, M-O-R-A-L-E-S. But, please, call me Manny. Ms. Marchman: Who is your employee; Manny? Mr Morales: City of Miami. Ms. Marchman: How long have you been employed by the City of Miami? Mr. Morales: Almost 28 years; a couple of months shy. Ms. Marchman: And what is your current position with the City of Miami? Mr Morales: I'm currently the Interim Chief of Police. Ms. Marchman: How long have you been the Interim Chief of Police? City of Miami Page 26 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Morales: Since Monday, October 11 th. Ms. Marchman: Would you just briefly review for us your previous positions with the City? Mr Morales: In the almost 28 years with the City of Miami Police Department, I have been a police officer, promoted to the rank of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Commander and Captain subsequently, Major Assistant Chief and as of now, the Interim Police Chief. Ms. Marchman: Manny, could you, for the Commission, just describe briefly the role of the Miami Police Department and the organizational structure? Mr Morales: Right. So, the City of Miami Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency tasked with ensuring public safety for the residents, visitors, and businesses of the City of Miami. My rank structure is paramilitary organization, with a hierarchy of ranks and different levels of authority. Within that table of organization, we have details, units, sections, and divisions that are overseen by different ranks that all ultimately respond to what we would call the CEO (Chief Executive Officer), which is the Chief of Police. Ms. Marchman: And at the time before you became Interim Police Chief could you describe, and then prior to the suspension on October 11 th of ChiefAcevedo, could you describe what the structure was just in terms of assistant chiefs, how many assistant chiefs and divisions, please? Mr Morales: So, before the -- and over the beginning of the new fiscal year, as of the end we did have, the Chief of Police was over all in command, the second in command, Deputy Chief that at that time was Ms. Heather Morris. We had four Assistant Chief of Police. Myself in charge of Field Operations, Chief Aguilar in charge of Criminal Investigations, Chief Gause in charge ofAdministration, and Chief Thomas Carroll which is in charge of Special Operations Divisions. Within those divisions, each of us, being the Assistant Chiefs at the time, supervise and command several elements which include majors, commanders, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and police officers. Ms. Marchman: How many sworn personnel and civilians are there within the Miami Police Department? Mr Morales: Currently, we have a little bit over 1,300 sworn members in the Police Department and a little bit under 400 civilian support personnel. Ms. Marchman: And, Manny, in front of you there's an exhibit book from the City Manager. Under Tab B is the suspension notice and suspension letter for the Chief and I'd like to ask you about a number of the reasons for the suspension. And we'll start with number one. With respect to the Chief losing the confidence of the rank and file and executives. Mr Morales: Okay, I have the -- Ms. Marchman: Hold on a second, I didn't ask a question just yet. So, under Tab B, 2 - - page 2, is the October 11 th letter on suspension. And number one states the Chief has lost the confidence and trust of the rank and file, and as of 10/1/21 the executive staff. So, my question is, who is the executive staff? Mr Morales: The executive staff is the members of the Police Department that are appointed to a specific. function or rank by the Chief of Police. They serve, even City of Miami Page 27 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 though they're members of the department and have civil service rank and privileges, they are appointed and serve at the discretion and will of the Chief of Police. It usually is executive officers, Sergeant -at -Arms, commanders, majors, assistant chief and up to the deputy chief. Ms. Marchman: And are you a member of the executive staff? Mr Morales: Yes, I am. Ms. Marchman: And do you agree with the statement the Chief has lost the confidence and trust of the rank and file and as of 10/1/21 the executive staff? Mr Morales: Yes, I do. Ms. Marchman: And why do you agree with that statement? Mr Morales: Well, I'll take your question in two parts, right? The rank and file, the Fraternal Order of Police, which is a bargaining unit for the Miami Police Department and its members, put out a survey, which it's -- assuming it's here in the package. which shows a significant number of the rank and file which are the members of the department outside that what we commonly refer to members outside of the executive staff. That would be bargaining unit members, officers, sergeants, lieutenants, and captains. Where 1 believe it was close to 80 percent where they show that they had a vote of no confidence on Chief Acevedo. Ms. Marchman: And feel free to look at Tab 1 at page 8. Is this the survey you were just testifying to? Mr Morales: This looks like the results that the Fraternal Order of Police put out on those two questions on the survey, yes. Ms. Marchman: And what were the questions and what were the results? Mr Morales: The top question shows: "As member of the Miami Police Department do you have confidence in ChiefAcevedo's ability to lead the Police Department?" The result, 615, or 79 percent for no, and 166, or 21 percent, for yes. That would be question number one. Question number two is: "Should Chief Acevedo be fired or asked to resign?" And 614, or 79 percent, said yes and 165, or 21 percent, said no. Ms. Marchman: And what about the second part of ,your answer? You had mentioned, you answered the question with respect to rank and file and what about the executive staff in losing -- the Chief losing confidence from the executive staff? Mr Morales: All right, so I've been member of the executive staff since December of 2009 when I was appointed to Police NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) Commander by then Chief Exposito, and I have a very close relationship with the vast majority of the executive staff So, I do know that from the conversations that we've had and the feelings that are expressed, not only to me but to the other assistant chiefs and the other staff members, that they have lost faith in the ability of Chief Acevedo to effectively lead the department. Ms. Marchman: And why is that? Mr Morales: It's a litany of things. But it perhaps boils down to the systematical -- or systematic demoralization of the Police Department that has been a result of his City of Miami Page 28 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 leadership style or his strategic tactics on how to handle personnel. Um, I'm not sure - Ms. Marchman: Manny, can you provide the Commission with a specific example? Mr Morales: So, we did have a staff meeting on September 29th, and that staff meeting was two days after the initial Special Commission Meeting here. And all the executive staff was there. And ChiefAcevedo made several statements, one of them was that this place is full of backstabbers and snakes. And he's referring to some of the very people in this room. So, he's talking about us. He's talking about the members of the Police Department when he's making those type of statements. And I believe, I do not know what he's basing those statements on, but I do believe it was as a result of maybe the information that he received during the executive interviews that he conducted when he first got into the Police Department. I know it happened to me, the other assistant chiefs, and a lot of the other executive staff members. When we had interviews with ChiefAcevedo, we were brought into his once for the one-on-one as he was conducting his assessment of the executive staff, of the current members in the department, after very publicly stating to the rank and file, or the men and women of the Miami Police Department, that we were top heavy in the department. That, as we sat there, ChiefAcevedo had a series of questions. Some of them were related to the fact of whose team are you on? Are you Team Papier, are you not? Are you part of the friends and family? After that discussion, it kind of went into give me three names of three people you would demote and why. And you don't have a choice, you have to do it. Three people you would promote and why. And you don't have a choice to do it. And then subsequent meetings with other folks as you're talking about, he would divulge that information. Not necessarily who said that, but this is what your peers are saying about you. And I will definitely leave names out, but I know that very publicly when we just recently had a staff meeting and had an opportunity to air out our grievances without the presence of ChiefAcevedo, one of the staff members said that once she heard that information that was being sent by ChiefAcevedo at his own bequest of the officers that were brought in, she cried when she got home. Right? And I think that that was perhaps what drove the biggest wedge. I think it was a tactic to divide and conquer, so to speak, and to cause a little bit of instability in the executive staff So as we talk amongst ourselves in the executive staff and you begin to see the same patterns develop with everyone's interviews, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, he asked me the same things, I think that's when we started to realize that perhaps it was more than a casual conversation, that it was a strategic purpose for the line of questioning and the divulsion of that information that your peers are stabbing you in your back. There's nobody here that you can trust other than ourselves. So that's when I say that the executive staff. Does that answer your question? Ms. Marchman: It does, thank you. Mr Morales: Okay. Ms. Marchman: The suspension letter also speaks to an unauthorized threat to discipline employees who don't get vaccinated under 1(a). Did you witness the Chief threatening to discipline employees who don't get vaccinated? Mr. Morales: Yes, I guess it could be considered a threat. We did have a centralized, or a gathering, what we call a roll call which is when we get together at the beginning of the shift for patrol officers to hand out their assignments and their duty orders for the day, on August 4th I believe, where ChiefAcevedo did make some statements about his desire to have everybody in the department vaccinated. And that the City was very close to mandating it, and he was considering certain measures to ensure that, to include but not limited up to suspending your ability to work extra duty jobs. So, I -- some of the members that did approach me interpreted that to be a threat to City of Miami Page 29 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 them because it jeopardized their ability to generate additional revenue. Some officers rely on their extra duty jobs to meet their -- their monthly expenses. Ms. Marchman: And when did that occur? Mr Morales: That was August 4th. Ms. Marchman: Based on your experiences as an employee with the Police Department and with the City, has the City Manager or the Commission mandated vaccines for employees? Mr Morales: No. Ms. Marchman: And what is the policy with respect to vaccines? Mr Morales: The policy is that if you're not vaccinated, you must wear a mask, or you can get vaccinated and show proof in the Police Department and you do not need to wear a mask. Ms. Marchman: Returning to the suspension letter, under 1(b), it states that on October lst, 20 -- October lst, 2021, the Chief witnessed his Deputy Chief verbally assault his executive staff after a Commission meeting and did not intervene. Did you witness this incident? Mr Morales: Yes, 1 did. Ms. Marchman: And who is the Deputy Chief that's referenced here? Mr Morales: At the time it was Ms. Heather Morris. Ms. Marchman: And who is Ms. Morris? How long was she at the City and where did she come from? Mr Morales: Ms. Morris, I believe, began her employment with the City of Miami on August 1st as a Deputy Chief. And Chief Acevedo brought herI believe she was formerly with the Houston Police Department. Ms. Marchman: Is that where the Chief used to work? Mr Morales: That was his former employer, yes. Ms. Marchman: And you mentioned August lst. Is that August 1st of this year? Mr Morales: Yes, ma'am. Ms. Marchman: And what did you witness with respect to this incident? Mr Morales: If I can put a little context to it so I paint an accurate picture, the second Special Commission Meeting into the Chiefs actions, and it went into subsequent discussion about the budget, where the Commission made a determination to eliminate certain positions, specifically two majors and one executive officer that were, to my knowledge, vacant at the time. When the meeting concluded we went back upstairs in this very chamber right on the second floor. I had Assistant Chief Thomas Carroll right behind me, Miami Police Budget Manager Jorge Blanco behind me, and we entered the conference room upstairs. And we were immediately met by Ms. Morris. In the room at the time was Chief Acevedo, his Executive Assistant Enrique Chavez, his Chief of Staff Dr: Lee. And as we walked in, as I stated before, myself City of Miami Page 30 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Chief Carroll, and Budget Manager Blanco. As I said, when we walked in, we were confronted by Ms. Morris, which was visibly upset, very agitated actually, and it went into a barrage of cursing and screaming, shaking her head and waving her finger, what the f was that. And I will -- I've been advised, the language was very colorful, I don't know who's -- our viewers are watching at home or whether we have children, so I will request that you allow me to substitute some of the language, and I hope that it paints the picture of what accurately took in that place, but I don't wish to lower myself to those, using those words here in front of the public. I don't think it's worthy of the position of any police officer: So, but, as I was mentioning, she said what the f was that, and I'm like 1 don't know what you're talking about. And she goes you did nothing to stop them from taking my position. And I'm like, your position was already taken the last time; they did away with the deputy chief. She goes that's not what the 'f I'm talking about. You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the EXO (Executive Officer) position. And I go I don't know what you're talking about. She goes you guys are 'mf, female dog', female body part', 'mf back-stabbers'. It just, it kind of went on and it kind of took a very sharp decline at that time. Chief Acevedo began gathering his notes, his books, putting them in there. He's like, guys, that wasn't right, man, you guys should have done more to fight for her job. I'm like, Chief I don't know what you're talking about. At that point I was unaware that the position had been offered, planned, or intended to be given to Ms. Morris. If not, I give you ever full intent that I would have, up here, mentioned that and I would have done my duty and represented that accurately I did not. Chief Carroll conies in right behind me, and he took the brunt of it. Ms. Morris told him you're the worst of the lot, man. You are a female parr, female dog', 'mf, back -stabbing. It just kept going on. She got very close to Chief Carroll, shaking her head, waving her finger at his face. He, like me, said I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't know, we didn't know what was going on. And then she turns around and where the 'f is that female body part' Armando? As he's walking right through the door, he gets confronted with the same barrage of insults and vulgarities. It -- and I mean I was taken aback at that time, I really didn't know what was taking place. It took me a second to know that there was something happening that we were unaware of. Chief Carroll was unaware of it. He tells Chief Aguilar, didn't you get my text? And Chief Aguilar says, yeah, I got your text, and I asked the Manager what happened to the position for Ms. Morris and the Manager said, hey, either that ship has sailed or we're way past that, I don't recall the terminology because there was a lot of things at that place. The Chief made a couple of comments in reference to we're better than that and you should have done f ing' more to protect her position, as he's walking out the door At that point Dr Lee kind of jumps in and says, hey, we're 'fling' better than this, man, you guys are better than this, as she's crying, she's running out. Manager Jorge Blanco's running out. It was a little bit of a chaotic scene. So, it was something that I have not witnessed, experienced, or been a part of in the 28 years of serving the City of Miami, or the 'bur years that I served in the United States Army, which was at that time in the late 80's pretty rough. So, it was a little bit of a surprise. What actually hurt me the most was that ChiefAcevedo knew that we didn't know. We had a meeting at 11:30 that morning where we discussed the action plan and what steps we were going to do and discuss during the Special Meeting, and he never mentioned that. So, he knew that we didn't know. I mean it was a little bit bizarre for me, but. I would have expected him to kind of bring some tone, use his authority in his position to stop, intervene the situation, and bring some calm to the room as things could have quickly escalated if we would have lowered ourselves and behave in the same manner that Ms. Morris did. Ms. Marchman: What did the Chief do, if anything, with respect to Ms. Morris' behavior? Mr Morales: He walked away at that time. City of Miami Page 31 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: To your knowledge did the Chief take any corrective action or disciplinary action with respect to Ms. Morris? Mr Morales: Not at that time. Ms. Marchman: Would you have expected the Chief to take any action? Mr Morales: Yes. As I stated, I would have expected him to intervene, being the highest ranking individual in the room. Ms. Marchman: Does departmental orders actually require him to intervene? Mr Morales: Yes. Ms. Marchman: And what departmental order would that be? Mr Morales: I apologize, I don't know it by heart. We did cut it out, but it is Departmental Order 1, Chapter 11.4.1.2 Authority. Ms. Marchman: And in your view, what part of the general -- departmental order did the Chief violate? Mr Morales: Authority. A commanding officer has direct supervision and control over all officers and civilian employees assigned to their command. They are responsible for efficiently and effectively coordinating and functioning activities and various units under their command. They shall promote harmony among the members and the civilian employees under his command. They shall be responsible for the cooperation of their command with all other units of the Department. They shall act in cases not regularly, assigned to their command if the delay is necessary, to inform the proper organizational members might result in the failure of the Department to perform police duties. I think the part that speaks to it is the promote harmony, that he should have intervened. And I'm certain there's other workplace violence, administrative policies, that the City has that govern that type of behavior at work. That is just not acceptable in a work setting. Or any setting if you ask me. Ms. Marchman: Manny, under Tab 1, looking at Page 5 and 6 there appears to be an anonymous email that made its way to Victoria Mendez, the City Attorney, relating to this incident. Have you had the opportunity to review this email? Mr Morales: Yes, I have. Ms. Marchman: And is the email accurate -- an accurate depiction of what happened? Mr Morales: It's pretty close, but it's -- definitely doesn't rise to the level of the intensity that was in that room that evening. Ms. Marchman: Now going back to the suspension letter under Tab B, reason number 3 for the suspension relates to the Chief offending the community by making the Cuban Mafia statement. Did you witness the Chief make this statement? Mr. Morales: Yes, I did. Ms. Marchman: Would you please describe for the Commission the context of that statement and what the Chief said? Mr Morales: It was the same centralized roll call meeting that I previously testified to where he made the comments in reference to the vaccination and potential City of Miami Page 32 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 consequences, or lack thereof. Where he was discussing the lack of diversity in the department, talking about not having enough White members of the department and that he intended to right that wrong and promote some White folks, because he had experience, and I'm paraphrasing a lot of it. I don't recall his exact words, though some of them are permanently etched in my mind. So not all the elements will be there, so please forgive me. But he did mention that he knew what it was to be a minority and to be left behind. Growing up in Los Angeles, being the first Latin chief in Austin, being the first Latin chief in Houston, he had seen how some groups can be forgotten and he was not going to allow that here. Because folks here don't know what it is to be a minority if you're Cubans in Miami because in Miami Cubans control it, and the City is run like by the Cuban Mafia. Vice Chair Russell: Just a moment, Chief You're recognized, Commissioner. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: And I hate the interruption, butt have to clarify because it's been misrepresented, I think, in the press. The comments that the Chief made about the Cuban Mafia, was that about the City of Miami or was it about the City of Miami Police Department? Mr Morales: As I recall it was Miami is run by the Cuban Mafia. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Miami, the City itself? Mr Morales: As 1 recall it. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: As you recall it? Mr Morales: Correct. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Guys, write that down. Mr Morales: That was August -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Back there, he wasn't referring to the Police Department, he was referring to our entire city. Just for clarification. It's been misreported over and over and over again that he's been referring to the Miami -- that he was referring to the Miami Police Department. My understanding, from different sources, was that he was referring to the City of Miami as a whole. There's a big difference. Thank you. Nee Chair Russell: Please continue, Chief and Ms. Marchman. Mr Morales: At that point, he also, after that statement, he actually wanted to thank a member of our department, which I'm not sure if it s proper to kind of bring him in to the setting, but someone he was grateful to for assisting him in his weapons qualifications. One of our firearms instructors, who shares the same name as the Cuban dictator. So, he wanted to thank him. He asked if he was in the audience and he didn't, hey, listen, but I really don't know what his parents were thinking because anybody who would name their kid that, really wasn't thinking straight. So I just thought that when you put the whole scenario put together, man, it just showed how -- how out of touch he was, and I know we've had conversations in the past, telling the Chief that there is a great level of sensitivity in Miami by the Cuban community as a result of the oppressive regime and the conditions that some of our -- our family members and the whole Cuban population is suffering at the hands of that oppressive regime, so. City of Miami Page 33 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: Manny, under Tab 3 up to really Page 30 there's a -- what appears to he a tweet from the Chief. Have you seen this before? Mr Morales: What page? I'm sorry in the bottom. Ms. Marchman: Page 30 on page 3. Mr Morales: 33? Ms. Marchman: Page 30. Mr Morales: 30. Ms. Marchman: Tab 3, page 30. Mr Morales: Yes. Ms. Marchman: Have you seen this before? Mr Morales: Yes. Ms. Marchman: What is this? Mr Morales: That is Chief Acevedo apology after his statements were brought to light in reference to the Cuban Mafia. Ms. Marchman: And he issued his apology through his Twitter account? Mr Morales: Actually, this particular statement that's on page 30 shows to be from the Miami Police social media Twitter account. If you look at the top it says Miami PD. We're looking at the same one dated 9/9 at 1:25 p.m. Is that -- are we looking at the same one? Ms. Marchman: Yes. Mr Morales: Okay. Ms. Marchman: Within the tweet it says Castro -- I want to thank the City of Miami Commissioners for kindly informing me this morning that historically, the Castro regime referred to the exile community in Miami as the Cuba -- Cuban Mafia. Having been raised in Los Angeles area as a proud Cuban, I was not aware of this fact. Should the Chief have been aware of the offensive nature related to the statement, the Cuban Mafia? Mr Morales: I can't speak to the knowledge that he has or what he should or should not know. Ijust know that in an official position, to give your opinion that any group, any collective gathering of individuals, organization, known as a Mafia can only be interpreted as a criminal organization that is used to victimize, oppress, and commit crimes. So, in that context, whether it's Cuban, Black, Chinese, Italian, it doesn't matter. It would lend to common sense to know that you are going to offend somebody. Ms. Marchman: What was the impact of this statement, the Cuban Mafia statement? What happened as a result? Mr Morales: Well, I think that's large part why we're here today, I believe. I know that there was public outcry on mainly Spanish radio stations. It prompted the union City of Miami Page 34 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 to put out a statement on it. So, it did cause some discord in the department and in our community. Ms. Marchman: And you mentioned the statement from the union. Is that contained in Tab 3, page 28 and 29? Mr Morales: Yes, it is. Ms. Marchman: Returning back to the Manager's suspension letter dated October 11 th. The fourth basis for the suspension relates to the Chief failing to initially report damage to his vehicle even after finding out there was damage. My question for you is what is required by policy with respect to reporting damage to police vehicles? Mr Morales: Our departmental orders that govern -- or our policies and procedures that govern the way that we have to conduct ourselves and the workflow and the required paperwork and measures needed after any given incident dictate that you have to report any damage to your vehicle whether it's caused by a crash or any other situation that might have caused damage to your vehicle. You are also required to do a daily inspection of your vehicle at the beginning of your tour of duty. Ms. Marchman: And how soon are employees required to report the damage? Mr Morales: 1 believe the departmental order says immediately to your supervisor Ms. Marchman: And, Manny, if you 'd look at Tab 4, pages 32 through 34, what are these? Mr Morales: These are the departmental's governing police vehicle crash investigations. Page 34 is governing vehicle damage. And page 33 is the vehicle is to be inspected before use, as I just mentioned before. Ms. Marchman: And is there a particular section that would apply to this situation in terms of reporting damage to the Chief's vehicle? Mr Morales: I believe departmental Order 1, Chapter 11.6.56.7, vehicle to be inspected before use, members and civilian employees assigned to operate police vehicles shall, before use, examine the vehicle assigned to them and report any unrecorded damage or operational defects at once to his superior officer and make the necessary reports. Failure to report damage or defects will create the assumption that the inspection was made and that the assigned operator is responsible for the damages or defects present. Ms. Marchman: And what about on page 34? Is that applicable as well? Mr Morales: Departmental Order 1, Chapter 11.6.38.1, Vehicle Damage. Member and civilian employees shall be held responsible for damages resulting from accidents when the evidence shows carelessness, negligence, or violation of a traffic ordinance. Members and civilian employees shall be held strictly accountable for damage caused by abuse or careless handling of police vehicles. Evidence of abuse of careless mishandling shall be submitted promptly to the division commanding officer through channels. Each member and civilian employee shall examine his or her vehicle at the start of his or her tour of duty for dents, broken glasses, or other readily visible damage and shall submit a report of such damage to his or her commanding officer at that time. Failure of an officer to submit a report of such damage to his or her commanding officer at that time will be considered prima facie evidence of the damage occurred while the vehicle was in his possession and he or she shall be held responsible for the damage. City of Miami Page 35 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: During ChiefAcevedo time over the Miami Police Department did he himself discipline employees for violating this policy? Mr Morales: I don 't know if it's this specific policy, but there was discipline handed out for failure to report a vehicle crash accident that resulted in damage to a police vehicle. Ms. Marchman: And what was the disciplinary action taken? Mr Morales: Termination. Ms. Marchman: I'd like to ask you about reason number six relating to personal time and vacation time. What is the City's policy with respect to taking personal time and vacation time? Maybe just tell us what you do as interim police chief. What's the policy, what's the expectation, and what do you actually do? Mr Morales: Correct. So, in my short tenure, I haven't taken any time off but the policy is that I need to get the prior approval to taking time off from my boss, which is City Manager Art Noriega. Once I get that approval, I notib' my staff so it can be properly documented on the pay sheet and our personnel sheet. Then I need to ensure that for continuity of command, that an out of office email is sent so the entire department and the executive staff knows who is going to be at the helm of the department in case any emergencies, such as civil unrest or a police shooting happens, they can understand who is the acting chief at that time. Ms. Marchman: And were there occasions when ChiefAcevedo was out of town, but there was no acting chief message sent out to the staff? In other words, the staff wasn't informed who was acting chief? Mr Morales: I only became aware that there had been some instances which -- that had occurred after I was able to review a September 29th memo that was generated by his executive assistant, Angie Ruiloba, where it stated the time that was taken off. And when you verf that with the out of office emails there is I believe seven days, a total of seven days where he was -- that had taken time Wand no out -of -office or assumption for an active chief had been made. Ms. Marchman: And is that a concern for you? Mr Morales: Absolutely. If anything would have happened, I mean, we would have responded, but I personally had been in charge oilfield operations and not know he was out of town. Ms. Marchman: Back to the City Manager's suspension letter, Number 8, it states the Chiefs action plan to lead the department moving forward was materially deficient. Under Tab 8 there's a letter from the City Manager asking the Chief to develop an action plan on September 30, 2021. My question for you is did you have any involvement in developing the Chiefs action plan that he presented to the City Manager on October 4th? It's at page 103, Tab 8. Mr. Morales: Yes, I did. Ms. Marchman: What was your involvement? Mr Morales: On October 1st at 11:30, we held a chiefs meeting in which we discussed the -- directive that the Chief Manager [sic] had given Chief Acevedo in reference to a 30, 60, 90 day action plan which included I believe it was five sections City of Miami Page 36 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 or five topics that needed to be covered and he turned in by close of business the subsequent Monday. At that point, we were assigned different portions of the plan. My responsibility was the policing plan, which included the organizational and crime fighting components of the plan. Ms. Marchman: And did you prepare the policing plan? Mr Morales: Yes. A portion of it, yes. Ms. Marchman: Was it included in the Chief's action plan dated October 4th? Mr Morales: Yes. Ms. Marchman: And did the Chief make any contributions or change the action plan you submitted to him? In terms of -- Mr Morales: To my submission? Ms. Marchman: Yes. Mr Morales: Not that 1 can -- not that 1 can detect on the final version. Ms. Marchman: And under Tab 8 at page 101 to 102, there's an email from the Chief of Staff regarding what would call assignments, the different assistant chiefs to work on parts of the action plan. Did you receive this email? Mr Morales: Yes, I did. Ms. Marchman: And according -- is this email accurate just in terms of the part that you worked on, the policing plan part? Mr Morales: Yes, it is. Ms. Marchman: I don't have any other questions. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Ms. Marchman. Thank you -- thank you, Chief. Mr. Byrne, would you like to cross-examine? Mr Byrne: I do. Thank you. Chief Morales, good afternoon. Mr Morales: Good afternoon, sir. Mr Byrne: ChiefAcevedo was hired to become Chief of Police in April of 2021; is that right? Mr Morales: Yes, sir Mr Byrne: And before he was hired, you had actually applied for that position; isn't that right? Mr. Morales: That's correct. Mr. Byrne: But you didn't get the position; did you? Mr Morales: That's correct. Mr Byrne: ChiefAcevedo did? City of Miami Page 37 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Morales: Yes, he did. Mr Byrne: You wanted that position, right? Mr Morales: That's why I applied for it. Mr Byrne: That's why you applied for it. Now if Chief Acevedo is terminated, do you plan to apply for that position? Mr Morales: Yes, I do. Mr Byrne: Now you were asked some questions about vaccine mandates. Do you remember those questions from the City Manager attorney? Mr Morales: Yes, I do. Mr Byrne: Now as a member of the City of Miami Police Department, you interact with members of the community, right? Mr Morales: Yes, I do. Mr Byrne: And some of those -- and so do your fellow officers, right? Mr Morales: That is a tenet of community policing, to engage the community and reach out and build those partnerships. Yes, it is. Mr Byrne: And you engage in a close range with some of those members of the community, right? Mr Morales: Yes, we do. Mr Byrne: And some of those members of the community are elderly, right? Mr Morales: Yes, they are. Mr. Byrne: And some of those members of the community might be immunocompromised in some way, right? Mr Morales: I would imagine that a percentage would tend to show that we come in contact with some of the folks that might be suffering that affliction, yes. Mr Byrne: And some of those people in the community are grandmothers, right? Mr Morales: We come across grandmothers, grandfathers -- Mr Byrne: Children. Mr Morales: Children. Mr. Byrne: Children. Mr. Morales: Aunts and uncles. Mr Byrne: And some of those children might have immunocompromised immune systems? City of Miami Page 38 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Morales: They could. Mr Byrne: COVID-I9 could kill them, right? Mr Morales: Yes. Mr Byrne: And Chief Acevedo wanted the officers of the City of Miami Police Department to be vaccinated. Mr Morales: Yes, he did. Mr Byrne: And you think that's a reason for him to be fired? Mr Morales: That's not whatl testified to. Mr Bvrne: You don't believe that's a reason that he should be fired? Mr Morales: I don't believe it should be mandated. Mr Byrne: But do you believe Chief Acevedo should he fired for wanting the members of the City of Miami Police Department to be vaccinated? Mr Morales: That is a determination that needs to be made by his boss, the City Manager. Mr Byrne: Do you have an opinion on that, sir? Mr Morales: I have my opinion. It has no place in this. I'm testing to the facts that I have seen. Mr Byrne: Well, you actually testified to quite a few opinions earlier on when you were being questioned by the lawyer for the City Manager Isn't that right? Ms. Mendez: Chair? Chair? Mr Morales: Perhaps you can refresh. Ms. Mendez:: Chair I would -- Nee Chair Russell: Just a moment. Madam City Attorney, you're recognized. Ms. Mendez: Yes. I would ask counsel not to be argumentative with the witness at this time. If you can instruct the witness -- the counselor. Mr Byrne: I'd like to turn your attention to page 7, actually it's page 8 of the binder that you were given. Please let me know when you're there, sir Are you there in your binder, sir? Mr Morales: I am there. Mr. Byrne: And you testified a little bit about that survey that was conducted by the -- was it Fraternal Brotherhood of Police? Mr Morales: Order of Police. Mr Byrne: Former Police? City of Miami Page 39 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Morales: Fraternal Order of Police. Mr Byrne: Fraternal Order of Police. Mr Morales: FOP. Mr Byrne: Okay. What measures were taken when that survey was performed to ensure that people responding to the survey did not vote more than once? Mr Morales: You would have to ask a member or an executive member of the Fraternal Order of Police that was engaged in the managing of that account of that survey. 1 was not. Mr Byrne: So, you don't know whether it's possible that the folks responding to that survey voted a hundred times? Mr Morales: That's correct. Mr Byrne: It's possible they did? Mr Morales: Anything is possible. Mr Byrne: Anything is possible, right? Do you know whether retirees, former police officers, not current active police officers, do you know whether retirees could vote in that survey? Mr Morales: I'm not aware whether they were allowed or not allowed. Mr Bvrne: You don't know? Mr Morales: You would have to ask the Fraternal Order of Police. Mr Byrne: Do you know whether the City Manager intends to call any witnesses from the Fraternal Order of Police today? Mr Morales: If I recall, counsel, they were not listed on the witness list. Mr Byrne: So, we really don't know what that survey says; isn't that right? Mr Morales: I don't know what measures were taken to ensure the integrity of the survey. I do not. Mr Byrne: And do you think it's important when someone's job is on the line, and someone offers survey evidence to this Commission, that the survey should be conducted with integrity? Mr Morales: Absolutely. Mr Byrne: You were asked some questions about an interaction with someone by the name of Heather Morris. Do you remember that line of questions? Mr. Morales: Yes, I do. Mr Byrne: Now if you turn to Page 2 of your binder, there's a number 1 on page 2 that has a subpart (B). Do you see that there, sir? Mr Morales: Yes. City of Miami Page 40 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Byrne: And it says 10/1/21 witnessed his Deputy Chief verbally assault his executive staff after a Commission meeting and did not intervene, right? Mr Morales: Yes, it does. Mr Byrne: That's what that says? Mr Morales: Yes, it does. Mr Byrne: But on 10/1/21, Heather Morris was not deputy chief isn't that right? Mr Morales: Technically no. It was after the year -- Mr Byrne: Her position was eliminated. Mr Morales: -- even though she remained employed until October 4th. So, I'm not certain what position she was holding at that time. She was in civilian clothing. To me, she was still acting in the capacity with all the duties, responsibilities, and authority of the deputy chief of police, my supervisor Mr Byrne: But do you know whether she was in fact, as of that date, the deputy chief of police? Mr Morales: I do not know, but that was my interpretation of what her position was at that time and that is with how I conducted myself when dealing with her as if I was speaking, handling, and in the presence of my superior officer Mr Byrne: And you were asked questions by the City Manager's attorney about certain rules that apply when it comes to disciplining officers below a particular officer in the chain of command. Do you remember that series of questions? Mr Morales: Yes. Mr Byrne: And you said that based on your understanding, it was Chief Acevedo's job to discipline Ms. Morris; isn't that right? Mr Morales: He was the only one of a higher rank. Mr Byrne: Well, that was based on your belief that she was Deputy Chief at the time, right? Mr Morales: Correct. Mr Byrne: And in fact, her position had been eliminated by that point in time? Mr Morales: Yes. Mr Byrne: You were asked a series of questions about Chief Acevedo statement regarding the Cuban Mafia. Do you remember that line of questions? Mr. Morales: Yes, I do. Mr Byrne: And it's true, sir, that ChiefAcevedo has apologized for making those statements; isn't that right? Mr Morales: Yes, he did. City of Miami Page 41 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Byrne: And in fact, those statements occurred again before September 24th, 2021; isn't that right? Mr Morales: Yes, sir Mr Byrne: And yet, before September 24, 2021, and after ChiefAcevedo made those comments referring to the Cuban Mafia, he wasn't suspended was he? Mr Morales: Not to my knowledge. Mr Byrne: He was not suspended until after he sent that memo on September 24, 2021; isn't that right? Mr Morales: He was suspended on October 11 th, so yes, that's after September 24th. Mr Byrne: You were asked some questions about the damage to ChiefAcevedo's -- alleged damage to ChiefAcevedo's vehicle. Do you remember that line of questions? Mr Morales: Yes, I do. Mr Byrne: Isn't it true, sir, that ChiefAcevedo, after the car allegedly suffered that damage, sent pictures of the alleged damage to both the City Manager and to the Mayor? Mr Morales: I do not have that information. You would have to ask the City Manager. Mr Byrne: Well, if that's the case, sir; you would agree that ChiefAcevedo did in fact report any alleged damage to his superiors? Mr Morales: If that's the case I believe that would be the case. Mr Byrne: And, sir, isn't it true, or do you know, that the Traffic Homicide Department for the City of Miami Police Department actually found that Chief Acevedo's car had suffered no damage? Mr. Morales: There is a memo written by a traffic homicide supervisor that states that there was no damage. Mr Byrne: I have no further questions. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Ms. Marchman: Mi. Chair, I have a few additional questions for Manny. Vice Chair Russell: You're welcome. Ms. Marchman: Manny, how important is it for law enforcement officers to tell the truth? Mr. Morales: I think it's very important, but according to ChiefAcevedo himself, one of his mantras is, you lie, you die. So, it's extremely important. Ms. Marchman: And why is that? Mr Morales: As law enforcement officers, we are often called upon to make decisions that involve life and death, and to testify about those actions. We need to have the City of Miami Page 42 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 public trust when we testify. Whether it's the absence of any other evidence, so the community needs to know that we're being truthful. Ms. Marchman: And have you been truthful in all of your testimony today? Mr Morales: Yes, I have. Ms. Marchman: You were asked questions about the FOP survey, and my question for you is based on your personal experience working with the Miami Police Department, have rank and file officers come to you, relaying to you anything that's suggests that they've lost confidence in the Chief? Mr Morales: Yes, they have. Ms. Marchman: You were asked questions about whether Ms. Morris was the deputy chief at the time of the October 1st incident. Do you recall that? Mr Morales: Yes. Ms. Marchman: If I could ask you to turn to Tab 7, page 94 in the book before you. Mr Morales: 94? Ms. Marchman: Yes. 1'll represent to you that this is a personnel record from the HR (Human Resources) department. Would this record help refresh your recollection as to whether Ms. Morris was a time -- was a deputy chief at the time that the incident occurred? Mr Morales: Are we talking about the letter dated October 4th? Ms. Marchman: Correct. And if you could just take a moment to read that letter. Mr Morales: So, here it states that effective October 5th, your position as the Deputy Chief of Police will be abolished and your employment is no longer required by the City of Miami. So technically on October 1st she was the deputy chief. Ms. Marchman: Thank you. No further questions. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Can we dismiss the Chief as a witness? Mr Byrne.. Yes. Mr Morales: All right. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Chief. Ms. Marchman: The City Manager at this time would call Armando Aguilar. Armando Aguilar (Assistant Chief of Police): Good afternoon, Mr Chair and members of the Commission. Vice Chair Russell: Chief [sic]. Ms. Marchman: Would you please state and spell your name for the record. Mr Aguilar: Yes. Armando Aguilar; A-R-M-A-N-D-O, last name A-G-U-I-L-A-R. City of Miami Page 43 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: Who is your employer? Mr Aguilar: The City of Miami. Ms. Marchman: And how long have you been employed by the City of Miami? Mr Aguilar: For about 21 years. Ms. Marchman: What is your current position with the City of Miami? Mr Aguilar: Currently an Assistant Chief of Police overseeing the Criminal Investigations Division. Ms. Marchman: And how long have you served in that position? Mr Aguilar: In that position for the past 18 months. Ms. Marchman: And would you just briefly walk us through your previous positions with the City of Miami? Mr Aguilar: Began my career as a patrol officer. Held all of the civil service classifications from police officer to captain, as well as appointed executive level positions to include executive assistant to the Chief of Police, NET commander, major, and my current position as assistant chief. I've held supervisory and command level assignments in the homicide unit, the personnel section, internal affairs, patrol, just to name a few. Ms. Marchman: And Chief there's a notebook in front of you and I would -- would like to ask you a few questions about the City Manager's letter of suspension dated October llth, which is contained under Tab B of your notebook, at Page 2. I'd like to start with asking you about Number 1. It states that the Chief has lost the confidence and trust of the rank and file and as of 10/1/21 the executive staff. My question for you is are you a member of the executive staff? Mr Aguilar: I am. Ms. Marchman: And who is the executive staff? Mr Aguilar. That would include the personnel that are in appointed classifications, so everything from the executive officer to the Chief of Police -- to the Chief of Police himself Ms. Marchman: Would you agree with the statement that I just read to you? Mr Aguilar: I do. Ms. Marchman: And why is that? Mr Aguilar: I think that it's -- it's important, ideally a chief ofpolice would enjoy the support of the City's elected leadership, the City Manager, and the rank and file and the executive staff but I think that when you've lost the support of all of those or a great number of all of those, it becomes very difficult to be an effective leader and manager. Ms. Marchman: Why do you think the Chief has lost the confidence of the rank and file and the executive staff? City of Miami Page 44 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Aguilar: 1 think that -- that there has been at least a perception among the rank and file that -- that discipline or disciplinary action was heavy handed and 1 -- whetherperceived or not, 1 think that the -- that not enough was done to really instill any sense of calm or stability among the rank and file and of course the -- just the -- just all of the negative media attention that -- that has come upon the department really just weighs down on every member of the rank and file and -- and so everybody really takes the negative attention to heart. Ms. Marchman: And what about the executive staff? Why have they lost confidence in the Chief? Mr Aguilar: 1 thinkfbr many of the same reasons. Ms. Marchman: Number one speaks to an unauthorized threat to discipline employees who don't get vaccinated. Did you witness that threat? Mr Aguilar: I did. Ms. Marchman: And can you tell the Commission what you witnessed? Mr Aguilar: The Chief during a centralized roll call where -- when I say centralized that means that we brought together several patrol districts, members of specialized units into the Police Academy's auditorium, so there were roughly 300 people in the auditorium at the time, and -- and the Chief had made reference to his intent to take some form of disciplinary action against members of the department that did not want to be vaccinated. And he also made a similar statement during a media interview. Ms. Marchman: Has the Commission or City Manager taken a position on mandatory vaccines for employees? Mr Aguilar: No. Right now, the requirement is that employees of the Police Department and of the City wear a mask unless if they would like to be exempt from the mask requirement by showing proof of vaccination. Ms. Marchman: Under number 1(b) it states that 10/1/21 witnessed his Deputy Chief verbally assault his executive staff after Commission meeting and did not intervene. My question is did you witness that incident? Mr Aguilar: Yes. Not in its entirety, but -- a portion of it. Ms. Marchman: And can you tell the Commission what you saw? Mr Aguilar: So again, it was after the October 1st Special Commission meeting where among other things the Police Department's budget was discussed. And I -- after the meeting concluded, I was here in chambers with Assistant Chiefs Morales and Carol. Chiefs Morales and Carol went upstairs first. I stayed for a briefperiod speaking to someone in chambers and as I walked upstairs I heard screaming coming from -- from the conference room on the second floor I could tell it was Deputy Chief Morris. I couldn't make out exactly what she was saying, but as I approached the door and opened the door, heard her shout something to the effect of and where the f' is Armando, referring to me obviously. Ms. Marchman: And what happened after that? Mr Aguilar: So, I -- I opened the door and I looked at her and I said, I'm right here. And she -- she then said something to the effect of like she kind of flailed her arms and City of Miami Page 45 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 said, what the f'? After she said that, I was taken aback and Chief Acevedo said something to the effect of you guys needed to do more to protect her job. Ms. Marchman: Did anything else happen at that meeting? Mr Aguilar: So, I told Chief Acevedo I -- I was upset by the comment. I asked him what job? The job that l first found out about downstairs while -- while the budget was being discussed? And he began to say, you guys knew. And I immediately interjected, and I said, no, we did not know, we did not know anything about that being any kind of plan whatsoever And it was after that that Chief Acevedo walked out, followed by Deputy Chief Morris. Ms. Marchman: Did the Chief do anything to address Ms. Morris' behavior? Mr Aguilar: He did not. Ms. Marchman: Would you expect him to? Mr Aguilar: I would have expected him to at minimum have put a stop to it at the moment, yes. Ms. Marchman: And why is that? Mr Aguilar: 1 think that all members of the department are bound by policies governing working in harmony, policies governing courtesy towards other members of the department, whether they're subordinates, whether they are -- whether they're superiors. I found the behavior inappropriate, I found it unprofessional, and I would have expected him as the ranking officer in the room to have taken action. Ms. Marchman: Have you been addressed previously by a high ranking officer in this manner in your time -- your 21 years with the City? Mr Aguilar: Never. Ms. Marchman: To your knowledge -- Mr. Aguilar: Never until then, Fin sorry. Ms. Marchman: To your knowledge did the Chief at any time take corrective action or disciplinary action against Ms. Morris? Mr Aguilar: I'm not aware of any. Ms. Marchman: I'd like to ask you about Number 3, related to the Chief offended the community by making a Cuban Mafia statement. Were you present when the Chief made that statement? Mr Aguilar: Yes. It was in the same centralized roll call that I mentioned earlier where the vaccine comments were made. Ms. Marchman: And would you please describe for the Commission what happened? Mr. Aguilar: So, the Chief was discussing the importance of diversity. He talked about how Miami was a majority minority city and so said that we really as "minorities" in Miami had not really experienced what people in other -- in other places experience. Then he said something to the effect of that we in Miami -- or the Cubans in Miami, City of Miami Page 46 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 we have -- we have a mafia here. I don't know if he was talking specifically about the Department, the City government, or the City itself. Ms. Marchman: Was there anything else that was said at the meeting that was remarkable by the Chief? Mr Aguilar: He had -- he had made reference to a firearms instructor in our training section, referred to him by name, and -- and made a joke that unfortunately fell flat on its face where he -- he mocked the officer's name and asked out loud how any parent of Cuban origin could name their son that. Ms. Marchman: What was your reaction to the Chief's comments? Mr Aguilar: The first comment, the mafia comment I felt -- I knew was going to be problematic. I knew that in a mom of 300 people, somebody was -- somebody was going to be offended. Just knowing the negative historical connotation that's been used towards that term in particular with the Miami exile community and I -- I just -- as far as the officer's name, I cringed really. I didn't -- I didn't think it would be well received and so I was a bit embarrassed at the moment. Ms. Marchman: Do you think the Chief should have known not to make these types of statements? Mr Aguilar: 1 think that he had in other situations been told to refrain from stepping into that territory, and so, you know, to be very careful with the types of jokes that he - - that he makes. And so, I take him at his word when he says that he didn't know the historical connotations of calling the Cubans a mafia, but it's -- I think just as a general term, as public officials we should stay away from jokes dealing with race, with ethnic origin, any other sensitive topics like that. Ms. Marchman: Had you previously told or witnessed somebody else tell the Chief not to make jokes about Cubans? Mr Aguilar: Yes. Ms. Marchman: Going back to the City Manager's suspension letter and particularly Number 8, it says the Chief's action plan to lead the department moving forward was materially deficient. If you look at -- go to Tab 8, there's a letter from the City Manager outlining the action plan that he desired from the Chief. That's at page 99 to 100. Then at 101 to 102, there's an email related to the action plan. And then 103 on is the actual action plan. So, my question for you is did you have a part in developing the action plan? Mr Aguilar: Yes, I did. Ms. Marchman: What was your role? Mr Aguilar: I drafted Items 4 and 5. Item 4 dealing with the Chief's media and public relations plan, and Item 5 his plan to repair relationships with elected officials. Ms. Marchman: Have you had an opportunity to review the Chief's final plan submitted to the City Manager October 4, 2021? Mr Aguilar: Yes, I have. Ms. Marchman: And is the action plan that you prepared with respects to part 4 and 5 your plan? In other words, did the Chief contribute to the plan or change it at all? City of Miami Page 47 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Aguilar: It does not appear that any changes were made to my. draft. Ms. Marchman: I don't have any other questions. Thank you. Mr Aguilar: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Would you like to cross-examine? Mr Byrne: Yes. Good afternoon, ChiefAguilan How are you today? Mr Aguilar: Good afternoon. Doing well. How are you? Mr Byrne: Good. Thank you. ChiefAguilar you are aware that ChiefAcevedo ascended to the position of police chief in April of'2021. Mr Aguilar: That he assumed the position April of 2021? Mr Byrne: Yes, sir. Mr Aguilar: Yes. Mr Byrne: Did you yourself apply for that position? Mr Aguilar: 1 did. Mr Byrne: You wanted that position? Mr Aguilar: Yes, I did. Mr Byrne: But you didn't get it, did you? Mr Aguilar: That's correct. Mr Byrne: Chief Acevedo did? Mr. Aguilar: Yes, he did. Mr Byrne: Now if Chief Acevedo is terminated, do you intend to apply for that position? Mr Aguilar: I'm not sure. Mr Byrne: You might? Mr Aguilar: More likely may not actually. Mr Byrne: Okay. So maybe because of what you've seen him go through today? Mr. Aguilar: No. I think that right now the -- there's so much chaos in the Police Department and in the city, that -- that we need stability and so I -- I will make a decision at the time, you know, when the time conies as to whether or not I feel that it's time for me to step up or allow somebody else to step up. Mr Byrne: Do you think you could provide that stability? Mr Aguilar: I could. I'm certainly not the only one. City of Miami Page 48 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Byrne: Now I want to ask you some questions about the subject of leave, leave time, okay? Did you have a conversation with Chief Acevedo where you reported that someone by the name of Angie Ruiloba intentionally did not input his leave time? Mr Aguilar: I informed him that there was a rumor circulating to that effect. Mr Byrne: You 've heard in fact thatAngie Ruiloba -- well, first let me ask you this, Angie Ruiloba was at one point in time the Chief's executive assistant. Isn't that right? Mr Aguilar: Yes. Mr Byrne: And you've heard rumors thatAngie Ruiloba intentionally did not input his leave time. Isn't that true? Mr Aguilar: That is the rumor that 1 heard, yes. Mr Byrne: And you've also heard, is it not true, thatMs. Ruiloba communicated that to someone by the name of Reyes, so that Commission Carollo could accuse Chief Acevedo of not appropriately, inputting his leave time. Ms. Mendez: I would object to this line of questioning as hearsay. Extreme hearsay, double hearsay. I know that it's relaxed, but it's for the Chairman to decide. Vice Chair Russell: Can you elaborate? Mr Byrne: Yes. I'm asking -- as we know; Chief Aguilar has testified extensively today about things that he has heard from other officers of the Miami Police Department. I am asking Chief Aguilar whether he heard that ChiefAcevedo's executive assistant intentionally did not input his leave time. Ms. Marchman: Objection, hearsay. Vice Chair Russell: I would agree. You're asking him if he heard what someone else did something; is that correct? Mr. Byrne: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: And you'd agree that that's hearsay? Mr Byrne: I agree that that's hearsay and I agree that the Rules of Evidence are relaxed in this setting and that he has testified extensively to hearsay throughout his testimony. Vice Chair Russell:: You're not required to answer that. If you'd like to answer it you can. Mr Aguilar: I'd prefer not to. I think I've already given my answer that I had heard rumors to that effect. I have no firsthand knowledge of it. Mr. Byrne: You were asked some questions about Ms. Heather Morris. Do you remember that line of questions? Mr Aguilar: Yes. Mr Byrne: And some language she used that you witnessed. Is that right? City of Miami Page 49 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Aguilar: I'm sorry? Mr Byrne: Some language she used that you witnessed? Mr Aguilar: Yes. Mr Byrne: How many years have you been an officer with the City of Miami Police Department? Mr Aguilar: Twenty-one years. Mr Byrne: Have you ever in your 21 years seen an officer lose his job because he didn't stop someone else from using foul language? Mr Aguilar: No. Mr Byrne: You were asked some questions about comments Chief Acevedo made about the Cuban Mafia. Isn't that right? Mr Aguilar: Yes. Mr Byrne: Did you suggest to Chief Acevedo that he should talk to your mother about going on Spanish language radio to apologize for those comments? Mr Aguilar: No. I told him after a discussion with my mother, who is a career public servant, that she had recommended to me that he take a more proactive role other than just going on social media, which is not somewhere where you're going to reach the audience who may have been offended by his comments. And so, I did recommend that he meet with Cuban exile groups. I told him that he should have gone on Spanish media and explained what was in his heart when he said what he said. Mr Byrne: You thought he should have done that? Mr Aguilar: I felt he should have. Mr Byrne: Did you know, sir that the City Manager expressly prohibited Chief Acevedo from doing that? Mr Aguilar: After he and I spoke I know that he went to the City Manager and it was during that discussion, I don't remember the date, where he was told to not give media interviews. Mr Byrne: He was told that he couldn't go on Spanish language media to apologize for the Cuban Mafa comments. Mr Aguilar: Yes. This was weeks after he made those comments, but yes. Mr Byrne: And now he's being accused by this Commission of not doing that. Isn't that right? Mr. Aguilar: I don't think the Commission is accusing him of anything. Mr. Byrne: You don't think that -- have you heard that Commissioners have accused Chief Acevedo of not apologizing through Spanish media for the comments about Cuban Mafia? City of Miami Page 50 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Aguilar: The accusations I'm aware of are laid out in his suspension memo and the Commission has obviously made public comments, hut they're not here to accuse him of anything today. Mr Byrne: Well, have you heard though that some of the Commissioners have accused Chief Acevedo of not apologizing about the Cuban Mafia comments through Spanish language media? Ms. Marchman: Objection, relevance. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Byrne, why are you bringing the Commissioners into this? Mr Byrne: Because he was asked at -- extensively during his questioning about Cuban Mafia comments and the Chief's insufficient reactions to those. Vice Chair Russell: So, what we're dealing with today is within the four corners of the memo issued by the Manager with regard to the accusations against the Chief. I've worked very hard to make sure that this Commission is here acting in a judicial -- quasi-judicial capacity and not in their Commissioner roles. But what you're doing is baiting us into having a discussion with you over what Commissioners said, or intended, or implied, or rumored and that's going to change the dynamic of this room right now. The Commissioners are not involved in this other than as a judicial process and I'd like you to restrict the questions with regard to the memo and what the Manager has accused the Chief of. Mr Byrne: And 1 think my cross examination was fairly within the scope of the direct examination of ChiefAguilar, but I respect your directive and I won't, inquire any further. Vice Chair Russell: Thankyou. Commissioner Carollo, you're recognized. Commissioner Carollo: Maybe if he could rephrase the question a little more and ask by name, since an attorney's supposed to know the answer if he's asking the question. Which Commissioner has made such a statement that he's claiming? Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner I'm trying to do the opposite to get us away from -- Commissioner Carollo: I know, but I'd like to get in the record at least what Commissioner is he claiming made that statement. Mr Byrne: I believe, although I'm not under oath and I'm not being questioned as part of this proceeding, I believe it was Mr Diaz de la Portilla. That's my understanding. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So, you're not sure then. You believe. Mr Byrne: That's nay understanding, sir. Commissioner Carollo: That's your understanding. Okay. I just wanted to get that on the record. Thankyou. Mr. Byrne: During a public hearing I think. I didn't know that was in dispute, but -- I have no further -- wait. Do I have another question? Let me see. I think covered everything I wanted with Officer Aguilar Thank you for your time, sir Mr Aguilar: Thank you. City of Miami Page 51 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: I just have a few follow-up questions. Vice Chair Russell: Go ahead. Ms. Marchman: You were asked about the Chiefs assistant and a rumor that she was intentionally not putting in the Chiefs leave time? Mr Aguilar: Yes. Ms. Marchman: Do you know the Chief's assistant? Mr Aguilar: Yes, I do. Ms. Marchman: How long has she worked at the City? Mr Aguilar: Longer than I have. I would say between 25 and 30 years, somewhere in that range. Ms. Marchman: How many chiefs has she worked for? Mr Aguilar: At least seven. Ms. Marchman: And are you aware of any reason why she would intentionally not put in ChiefAcevedo's leave time? Mr Aguilar: That would really call for me to speculate all sorts of -- Ms. Marchman: I'm just asking do you know Mr Aguilar: Do I know? No, I don't. Ms. Marchman: Okay. Whose responsibility is it at the City of Miami to request leave? Mr Aguilar: It's the employee's responsibility to request leave to their immediate supervisor. Ms. Marchman: Who do you request leave from? Mr Aguilar: At the time that we had a deputy police chief I would request leave from the deputy chief. Now that we don't I request it from -- I would request it from the interim chief and then ultimately the chief of police. Ms. Marchman: And who's responsible for entering the leave time into the system to ensure that it's deducted from your leave accruals with the City? Mr Aguilar: It would be our respective time clerks. Ms. Marchman: Okay. And if that's not done, who's responsibility is to make sure that it's not done or corrected? Mr. Aguilar: It's ultimately the employee's responsibility to know because we're bound by policy to not be absent without leave. So that -- our leave balances, our leave usage is published in our -- on our time slips. Ms. Marchman: And the Chief counsel asked you whether you had ever seen an officer lose his or her job for failing to stop profane comments or something of that nature. Do you recall that question? City of Miami Page 52 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Aguilar: Yes, I do. Ms. Marchman: Have you ever seen a chief jail to intervene in the situation that you were involved in with Deputy Chief Morris? Mr Aguilar: Not -- not until that moment. So, the chief is -- is not afforded the same protections under the collective bargaining agreement, under the officer bill of rights, and so I think the chief of police is held to a much higher standard. Ms. Marchman: Thankyou. No further questions. Mr Aguilar: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Can we dismiss ChiefAguilar? Mr. Byrne.. Yes, Chief. Vice Chair Russell: All right. Thank you, Chief Commissioner Carollo: Chair? Mr Aguilar: Thankyou. Vice Chair Russell: Yes, Commissioner? Commissioner Carollo: Could we take a three or four minute break, just real quick? I don't want to miss anything. Vice Chair Russell: All right. Let's get back at 6..00. Commissioner Carollo: Thankyou. [Later..] Vice Chair Russell: Good evening. We're reconvening the hearing. We have a quorum of three at this moment. Ms. Marchman would you like to call your next witness? Ms. Marchman: I would like to call the City Manage; please. Vice Chair Russell: Mr Manager. Mr. Noriega: Commissioners. Ms. Marchman: Mi. Manager, would you please state and spell your name for the record. Mr Noriega: Name is Arthur Noriega, A-R-T-H-U-R N-O-R-I-E-G-A. Ms. Marchman: Who is your employer? Mr. Noriega: City of Miami. Ms. Marchman: And how long have you been employed by the City of Miami? Mr Noriega: Nineteen months. City of Miami Page 53 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: And what is your position with the City of Miami? Mr Noriega: City Manager. Ms. Marchman: And prior to your position as City Manager what was your employment? Mr Noriega: I was the Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Parking Authority. Ms. Marchman: And how long were you the CEO of the Parking Authority? Mr Noriega: Twenty years. Ms. Marchman: Does the Parking Authority have any affiliation with the City? Mr Noriega: Yes. Ms. Marchman: And what is that? Mr Noriega: It's an instrumentality, an agency of the City. Ms. Marchman: And what were your -- just briefly, your responsibilities with respect to the Authority? Mr Noriega: Chief Executive Officer; oversaw the operational, legislative board liaison responsibilities in managing a department that was a revenue generating entity for the City. Ms. Marchman: What are your responsibilities as city manager? Mr Noriega: Chief Operating Officer of the City. My job is to oversee the operations and capital plan for the City. It includes all of the public safety components of the City, all of the City departments report directly to me. Ms. Marchman: Would you just please briefly describe the City of Miami in terms of its population size, budget, employee population, and specific departments? Mr Noriega: The size of the City under the current census numbers is a little under 500, 000. The budget is in total, operating and capital is roughly about $2.2 billion. And the employee population roughly plus or minus 4,600 employees. Ms. Marchman: And what are your major departments who report to you? Mr Noriega: The biggest departments size wise are Police, Fire, and Solid Waste. Ms. Marchman: And in terms of police does the police chief directly report to you? Mr Noriega: He does. Ms. Marchman: And do you hire the police chief? Mr. Noriega: I do. Ms. Marchman: Did you hire Chief Acevedo? Mr Noriega: I did. City of Miami Page 54 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: And when did you hire him? Mr Noriega: In April of this year. Ms. Marchman: In front of you is an exhibit book. Under Tab B in particular I'd like you to take a look at and what is this? Mr Noriega: This is the memo to the Commission notifying them of the suspension of the Chief of Police. Ms. Marchman: Did you author this memo? Mr Noriega: 1 did. Ms. Marchman: And what about behind the memorandum, what is that? Mr Noriega: Is the suspension letter to the Chief dated October llth. Ms. Marchman: Did you author this letter as well? Mr Noriega: I did. Ms. Marchman: Why did you issue this letter? Mr Noriega: It had become clear to me that the Chief was no longer capable of managing the department. I had lost faith in his ability to do so based on the eight factors listed in the suspension letter Ms. Marchman: Mr Manager I would like to review each of these eight factors with you just briefly because we've already heard witness testimony to most of these factors, but we'll go ahead and cover each of the factors if that's okay with you. With respect to factor one, in terms of the reasons for the suspension, what was your basis for this factor one, which is that the Chief has lost the confidence and trust of the rank and file and as -- as of 10/1/21, the executive staff? Mr Noriega: Clearly the trust and confidence of the department and its personnel in the Chief had come into question based on a number of factors. Both incidents that are further relayed in the termination memo, as well as a vote of no confidence from the FOP directly; as well as discussions I had with his senior staff and their perspective with regards to their lack of confidence in him. And certainly, the incident on October 1st was a significant momentfor me. Clearly his unwillingness to intercede basically was one of the deciding -- final deciding factors for me in terms of evidence that there was a major disconnect between him, his staff, and the rank and file. Ms. Marchman: Mi. Manager, under 1(a) it speaks to an unauthorized threat to discipline employees who don't get vaccinated. Why is this a concern for you? Mr Noriega: Because he didn't have the authority to issue any vaccine policy. Even give the implication that one was forthcoming. That fell on me. We'd had a number of staff meetings in which we discussed a potential vaccine policy. We were monitoring and charting as we do on a weekly basis the data as it relates to the COVID caseload, hospitalization, all of it. It was all a determining factor into whether we were going to implement any type of vaccine policy. Clearly, any vaccine policy also would have had to been negotiated with the unions. We wouldn't have just been able to arbitrarily mandate a vaccine policy. So, there were a number of'factors that were going to weigh into a final policy. We were very faraway from implementing one. We discussed it. He City of Miami Page 55 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 was part of those discussions. And although he had a strong and firm belief in a vaccine mandate, he was never authorized to have that discussion and quite frankly stepped out of bounds in doing so. Ms. Marchman: What is the City's policy with respect to vaccines for employees? Mr Noriega: There is no vaccine mandate. The only mandate required of the employees is that they wear a mask, and they can request an exemption of that policy if they are -- show proof of being vaccinated. Ms. Marchman: Under Tab 1 there's some documentary evidence related to the vote of no confidence or the loss of confidence from the rank and file. Would you just walk us through what these documents are. Mr Noriega: This was a survey done by the Fraternal Order of Police. Ms. Marchman: And what are you looking at, what page? Mr Noriega: Looking at Page 8. It's a graph, basically a pie chart for all intents and purposes, not a graph, and it indicates that a overwhelming majority, 79 percent of the membership did not have confidence in the Chiefs ability to lead the department. Then the other pie chart it basically indicates that 79 percent of the department felt he should be asked to be fired or resign. Ms. Marchman: Did you receive this information from the union officials? Mr Noriega: Yes. Ms. Marchman: Mr Manager,, going back to the suspension letter and particularly number two, it states that the Chief had an ill-advised interaction with a civilian, which resulted in a reprimand. What is this about? Mr Noriega: During a protest, the Police Chief engaged a protester in a manner that I thought was inappropriate for a chief His language was offensive and sort of stepped out of bounds in terms of you know, the actions of a chief and he should have known better: I think he has to set a tone for his rank and file and for the officers in the field and he did not. As a result, had a discussion with him and the result of that discussion is that a notice of counseling was issued to him, which is a form of reprimand. Ms. Marchman: And is that reprimand contained in Tab 2? Mr. Noriega: It is. Ms. Marchman: And was that issued by you? Mr Noriega: It was. Ms. Marchman: And what was the date of that? Mr. Noriega: July 13th. Ms. Marchman: And is there a video of the Chief's interaction with the public that is the basis for this reprimand? Mr Noriega: There is. City of Miami Page 56 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: And may we share that video at this time, please? For the record, all of the exhibit books at the very first -- at the beginning of the book there is a jump drive, and it has copies of this video and an additional video we'll show shortly thereafter. Audiovisual presentation made. Ms. Marchman: Mr Manager, just a couple of questions for the record, we just watched a video. What was the scene that we were witnessing? Vice Chair Russell: Just a moment, Ms. Marchman. Commissioner you have a question? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: May 1 see it again? May I see it again so 1 can make it out? Ms. Marchman: Yes, yes. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Thank you. Audiovisual presentation made. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Ms. Marchman: Mr. Manager, what did we just witness on the video? Mr Noriega: The Chief engaged in a -- in an individual -- he engaged directly with an individual in a crowd at a protest and clearly used foul language. In my, you know, entirely my perspective in actions unbecoming of a chief. Vice Chair Russell: Ms. Marchman, just so you know, the 90 minutes that you estimated expired. How much more time do you expect to need? Ms. Marchman: Ninety minutes for direct examination for the record. We've had cross examination as well. Vice Chair Russell: No, we've stopped the clock for all cross examination. Ms. Marchman: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: And I'm not holding you hard and fast. I just want to make sure the other side has equal time when you're complete. Ms. Marchman: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: So, I just want to know how much you're looking at. Ms. Marchman: I would only expect us to be about 15 more minutes and then we would I believe conclude our case. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Ms. Marchman: Mr. Manager; turning your attention back to the suspension letter under Tab B, looking at Number 3, why is that one of the reasons for your suspension? Mr Noriega: So, the Cuban Mafia reference obviously has been, you know, indicated through multiple witness testimony, was something that clearly was offensive in City of Miami Page 57 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 nature. For me it took on an additional level of concern in that it was made to his staff in particular. And, you know, there's a certain -- certain way we lead in terms of an expectation of a department director at any level, any department, and a certain way you should communicate to your employees that serve under you. I think making references such as Cuban Mafia in whatever context it was made was inappropriate and certainly not, to me, a very good display of leadership and certainly not a way to motivate your employees and encourage them to trust you as their leader. Ms. Marchman: But you heard testimony earlier from Assistant Police Chief Aguilar about his recommendation to go on to the Spanish radio station to apologize and it was suggested by the Chief's counsel that you prevented him from doing so. Can you explain whether that's true or not? Mr Noriega: That's completely false. This incident occurred and his tweet on social media occurred on September 9th. I didn't issue anv parameters of him with regards to the media until September 29th, and that was only post the September 27th meeting. My parameters to him were specifically not to engage in any discussion as it related to the September 24th memo, that if he had any need to discuss anything that was job related or related to the public safety, he could certainly engage the media. But again, that didn't occur until three weeks after his -- his apology through social media. So, there were no confines on him whether or not he had the ability to go to the media at all. He just decided on his own not to do it. Ms. Marchman: And did the Chief issue an apology related to those comments? Mr Noriega: He did through the departmental Twitter page. Ms. Marchman: And are you aware of whether he engaged in any other efforts to apologize? Mr Noriega: I'm not. Ms. Marchman: And with respect to reason Number 4 in the memo for the suspension, would you please describe for the Commission what happened with respect to the Chieffailing to initially report damage to his vehicle, even after finding out there was damage? Mr Noriega: So, the City has very specific departmental policy, both within the City of -- within the Police Department as well as citywide policy as it relates to reporting damage to a vehicle. He did not follow that policy. He didn't report the damage to the vehicle until ten days after the pictures were identified and he certainly didn't f011ow proper policy and procedure. The redline memo issued by the -- by his traffic division did not satisfy that policy directive. He was required to issue a damage report. It wasn't until the item was discussed again at length at the September 27th meeting that a request was made by GSA (General Services Administration) to physically inspect the vehicle. As a result, there was indeed damage to the vehicle. So, the traffic division report was inaccurate because the GSA mechanics found the exact opposite. Ms. Marchman: And if I could just direct you to Tab 4. This is information related to the vehicle incident with the Chief. Could you just walk us through briefly what's in this tab. Mr. Noriega: Well, what's in this tab is an FOP Twitter announcement with regards to photos and an accusation that there had been some sort of accident or damage to the vehicle that was unreported. Ms. Marchman: And what was the date of that? City of Miami Page 58 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Noriega: That was September 19th. There's also obviously a departmental order, which is a policy within the Police Department itself as it relates to reporting damage to a vehicle, as well as an email with an attached report of the vehicle inspection done by our General Services Administration, or GSA, which handles and maintains our fleet, and that identifies through additional photos and through a report issued by a supervisor there the record of damage to the bumper. Ms. Marchman: And when was that inspection done? Mr Noriega: That was done on September 29th. Ms. Marchman: And what about on Page 50, what is that? Mr Noriega: The actual vehicle property, damage report. Ms. Marchman: And who completed that report? Mr Noriega: The Chief. Ms. Marchman: And on what date? Mr Noriega: September 29th. Ms. Marchman: Did you direct him to complete this report? Mr Noriega: I asked him to complete the report. Ms. Marchman: What about the remaining pages in this exhibit? Mr Noriega: It's just the policy with regards to reporting vehicle damage that's the citywide administrative policy. That's also listed here which identifies the need to report damage to vehicle to general services and get it inspected. There is also attached here -- Ms. Marchman: And just to be clear, if I could just have you look at Page 63 in Paragraph H. Mr Noriega: Uh-huh. Ms. Marchman: What does it require with respect to the Chief reporting damage to the vehicle? Mr Noriega: It has to be reported within 72 hours. Ms. Marchman: To whom? Mr Noriega: To the -- to GSA. (COMMENTS MADE OFF THE RECORD) Mr. Noriega: To GSA, 72 hours. Ms. Marchman: And then pages 67 through 70, what is this? Mr Noriega: This is the redline memo, photos, and a cover email issued by the Traffic Homicide Division indicating that there was no damage to the vehicle. City of Miami Page 59 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: And what was the date of that? Mr Noriega: That was dated September loth. Ms. Marchman: So the -- just to be clear, Traffic Homicide found that there was no damage, but then approximately 20 days later, the GSA found otherwise? Mr Noriega: Correct, correct. Commissioner Carollo: That was September 10th? Mr Noriega: Yes, sir. Ms. Marchman: Who does the GSA report to? Mr. Noriega: The Manager Ms. Marchman: And what about the Homicide Unit, the Traffic Homicide Unit? Mr Noriega: Assistant Chief Carroll believe, directly to him. Ms. Marchman: And who does Assistant Chief Carroll report to? Mr Noriega: The police chief. Ms. Marchman: With respect to the suspension memo and Number 5 it says the Chief has on at least on occasion announced City policy without authorization to speak on behalf of the City of Miami. What are you referring to there? What's the basis for that reason? Mr Noriega: He gave an interview in particular, also vaccine related, in which he indicates that his -- his perspective on vaccines, and that a vaccine mandate was imminent, basically in the video, which he, as I referenced earlier was in no way authorized to -- to make that statement and give that as a matter ofpending policy when that was actually not the case. Ms. Marchman: May we share the video, please? Again, this second video is contained on the drive in your exhibit book. Audiovisual presentation made. Ms. Marchman: Mr. Manager; we just watched what appeared to be a news interview dated August 5th, 2021, between the Chief Acevedo and a journalist, where Chief Acevedo was interviewed. On the screen it stated City of Miami Chief and it appeared that the Chief was giving the interview from his office? Mr Noriega: I believe so. I don't really know where he was giving the interview from. Ms. Marchman: Okay. Was the Chief authorized to give that interview? Mr. Noriega: He was not authorized to give the interview and take that position, no. Ms. Marchman: And was -- were you close to mandating vaccines on August 5, 2021? Mr Noriega: We were not. We were not. City of Miami Page 60 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: And has the City in fact mandated vaccines? Mr Noriega: We have not. Ms. Marchman: And the Chief made a statement something to the effect the Governor can take us to court. Did you hear that? Mr Noriega: I did. Ms. Marchman: And what is your response to that? Mr Noriega: The -- any challenge to Tallahassee and/or the Governor's Office would need to come under specific declaration or directive from the City Commission. That doesn't come from me, it doesn't come from the police chief And any challenge we make that is litigious or in which we're defending ourselves, is not under my purview, nor is it under his. So, he spoke out of bounds on that issue as well. Ms. Marchman: And just to be clear, was there any such directive or approval from the Commission with respect to challenging the government -- the Governor as suggested? Mr Noriega: No. Ms. Marchman: In the video? Mr Noriega: No. Ms. Marchman: Okay. Mr. Manager have you suspended the Chief because of his beliefs on mandatory vaccines? Mr Noriega: Absolutely not. Ms. Marchman: And so -- so what is your concern with respect to the statement that he just gave? Mr Noriega: It is irrelevant what your personal belief is. What's relevant is the impact it has on your employees from a policy perspective. To issue a vaccine mandate would have required not only negotiation with the union, but approval from the Commission forthwith. You know, if you're going to renegotiate a concession from the unions, but considerable discussion with the -- with the employees themselves. And a lot of education in terms of the reasons why, the rationale, all of it. We were very far removed from getting to a point in reviewing the data where we felt it was critical enough to pursue that. We spent a lot of time and a lot of energy with my emergency management department and with the Department of Health in evaluating the data and -- and a lot of discussions internally with staff and we were nowhere near a vaccine mandate and quite clearly he -- his indication of such was in direct conflict with every conversation we'd had. Ms. Marchman: Mr Manager, turning back to the suspension letter, Number 6 says the Chieffailed to report personal time and vacation time. Your Human Resources Director covered that at length. And really my only question for you related to that was whether the Chief had requested from you, any time off throughout his six months of employment with the City? Mr Noriega: There are a few travel leave requests that he forwarded to me. They are inconsistent and certainly not to the level of which he actually took time off'.' His lack City of Miami Page 61 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 of reporting that time to payroll ultimately falls on him, and he should have been vigilant in, you know, supervising his employee responsible for that. Ms. Marchman: And with respect to Number 7, it says the Chief disobeyed a director - - a directive by you when he made an employment offer which exceeded the pay range and other benefits for the position. If we look at Number 7, there's a job offer to Ms. Heather Morris. And again, you're Human Resources Director has already spoke to these documents, but if you could tell the Commission what the directive was that you issued to the Chief and your personal involvement with the situation. Mr Noriega: So, obviously I was directly involved in this. When the Chief -- when the budget amendment was made to eliminate the deputy chief position, he approached me with regards to what, ultimately, his options were with regards to the deputy chief 1 told him, look, you're only option -- because his initial request of me was to push back one of the assistant chiefs and roll her into an assistant chief position, and I told him that that was unacceptable, that that had implications on a number of employees because of the roll back provision, and that would have impacted a number of people. But we did discuss an open executive officer position that he had available, and as such I agreed to allow him to roll her back into that position. And as such, we discussed specifically the parameters of the salary and benefits. More particularly the salary. And I told him, I was very clear with him that the pay range was capped out at $169,000 and change. He discussed it with her, sent me a response later that day and said that that was his decision, that she'd agreed to do it. 1 connected him with Angela in our HR Department and said, you know, begin to process this transfer And so, as such, that was in progress. Again, subsequent to the October 1st meeting and the elimination of that position as well and only as a result of an exchange between the HR Director and Ms. Morris herself did we discover that an actual offer letter had been issued and the terms of that letter were not within the confines of what he and I had discussed in terms of the offer and the allowed offer. Ms. Marchman: With respect to Number 8, it says the Chief's action plan to lead the department moving forward was materially deficient. The two significant problems in the department are officer morale and community relations. And if you could -- and you're welcome to look at Tab 8, which has your request for the plan and the actual plan. And my first question for you is this was issued September 30th, 2021. What prompted you to request such a plan from the Chief? Mr Noriega: It had become clear to me through my interaction with him as well as some of the discussion at the September 27th meeting and because of the series of incidents that had occurred throughout the very short six months of -- not even six months of his tenure, that there were some very serious concerns that needed to be addressed. So, in an effort to provide him a platform to be able to address those, through that request of the plan, I wanted him to create his vision, for how to address very specific issues that I thought needed focus and attention. And as a result, the plan that was issued to me, when I say materially deficit, the most significant deficiency in it is really highlighted in the very first paragraph. He lists as one of his accomplishments, employee morale and community engagement. When I read that I almost didn't need to read the rest of the plan. Because to me, quite frankly, for him not to be self:aware enough to realize that he had an employee morale issue and that he had issues with regards to the way the community viewed him, based on some of his comments, showed a tremendous disconnect, right, and that awareness is what 1 was looking for in the plan in terms of how to resolve and address those. And the plan didn't materially do that. The fact that he opens up the plan with that statement was all I needed to get me to the point where I felt like it was time to move on and get new leadership for the department. City of Miami Page 62 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: Now there were some questions earlier by the Chief's counsel with respect to, or suggesting that your suspension letter had something to do with the Chief 1 think the quote was, speaking truth to power: What is that about and is your suspension based on statements made by the Chief with respect to any sort of memo? Mr Noriega: So, as evidenced in my termination -- or my suspension letter, the Chief - - there's no indication or reference to the September 24th memo at all. That's because his September 24th memo,* me, he was certainly entitled to write. I didn't, you know, wouldn 't have forbid him his right to issue that memo and address whatever concerns he felt he needed to highlight and bring to light. He's certainly, you know, entitled to forward any information he has to substantiate that memo to any Federal authorities, but quite frankly it's out of the scope of why I terminated him or why 1 suggested the suspension. One of the key things I asked him in issuing me the plan was a self - evaluation. The rationale for that was because there had been a number of incidents, right, and it was such a very short period of time, really less than six months of his tenure, that I thought it was appropriate to get his perspective on the job he had done. When we addressed the issue of one item, or eight items referenced in a suspension letter, it's the full body of work. I've been managing at a senior level, people for over 25 years, and -- and one of the key things is understanding true leadership, the ability to lead people. One of the things you have to be sort of in touch with as a manager is your -- the people that you supervise, their perception of you, right? The Chief unfortunately, and this 1 think is the critical part of this and -- and to me is the most, you know, disappointing thing. I have nothing personal against the Chief I generally think he 's a good person, but he never allowed himself, as someone not from this community, to come in and earn the trust both of the people that he worked with, the community as a whole, and quite frankly, you heard it in some of the testimony earlier, you -- your style, how you lead, how you inspire people matters. And threatening them and bullying them is really not a way to foster trust and confidence. Especially when you 're not from here, you haven't preestablished those relationships, you don't have that network already in place and you have the support of those people. So, you knovi it certainly didn't align with my management style. I think everybody has their own, and I don't begrudge people to manage differently to their skill set, but I thought what he did and how he lost confidence in the department in such a short period of time was to me unacceptable and at this point again we need to get new leadership for the department. Ms. Marchman: Mr. Manager; I just have one more question for you. I understand the Chief led other agencies prior to coming to the Miami Police Department and he came to you highly recommended. How, in six months, did we get to where we are today considering his background? Mr Noriega: Well, I think it clear: I mean, he came to a community that he obviously hadn't spent enough time in to really appreciate the culture, didn't really have a strong network here, and didn't allow for that to develop organically. I've lived here 30 years. It took me a very long time to develop my professional and personal relationships to a point where you earn your trust. When I started this job, it's been 20 years in an agency affiliated with the City. I had a lot of preexisting relationships, especially with the senior staff. So, I knew, you know, I had a pretty strong familiar feel for the staff the culture of the city and an understanding of -- of really how to approach change here because I had an appreciation and I had preexisting relationships that 1 could lean on. When you're notfrom here or you're notfrom any city, I mean, if you're corning into a city without that preexisting network, it takes time to establish that. He didn't allow for that. And in not doing so, he really engineered his demise and the situation we're in now, where he has a department, he has City leadership, that have very little confidence in his ability to continue to lead that department. Hence, why we have a suspension in place in this hearing. City of Miami Page 63 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Ms. Marchman: Thank you, Mr. Manager. 1 don't have any further questions. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Do you have any --1 'm sorry. Cross examination. Mr Byrne: Yes, thank you, Chief. Ms. Marchman: One moment, please. I do. Just a procedural matter. I would like to admit into evidence the City Manager's exhibit book, all exhibits, A, B, and 1 through 3. Vice Chair Russell: Of course. Mr Byrne? Mr Byrne: Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Noriega. How are you? Mr Noriega: Good and you, counselor? Mr Byrne.. I'm well. Thank you. I want to turn your attention to Page 2 of the binder there, the memo outlining the reasons -- alleged reasons for ChiefAcevedo's suspension. Do you have that in front of you? Page 2. Mr Noriega: I do. I do. Mr Byrne: Number 4 reads: "The Chieffailed to initially report damage to his vehicle. Even after finding out there was damage, he did not report the damage until ten days later. "Did 1 read that right? Mr Noriega: You did. Mr Byrne: Si,, isn't it true that on September 19, 2021, you tweeted, "I have personally reviewed the facts surrounding ChiefAcevedo's unmarked vehicle incident and I welcome the Civilian Investigative Panel review It is very unfortunate that this seems to be another attempt by the Fraternal Order of Police to baselessly undermine our police chief" Mr Noriega: I did say that. Mr. Byrne: You did say that? Mr Noriega: I did. Mr Byrne: And today, in this hearing, you are relying on a survey prepared by the Fraternal Order of Police as part of your evidence against ChiefAcevedo? Mr Noriega: It one component. Yeah, it is. But, no, let me finish. So, yeah, it a -- an element of the reason why I feel he lost the support of the rank and file. Beyond that its also based on personal interaction both with some of the rank and file as well as the executive team. So, it not based solely on a survey. Its a compilation of -- of conversations and communications I've had. So that survey, you can certainly challenge the accuracy of it. To me, ultimately, when I've had interaction both with the FOP certainly they have a very, strong opinion of the Chief and not a good one, that hasn 't been solely what I've relied on in terms of that determination. So, you can make whatever cross accusation you'd like, and as it relates to the actual vehicle damage itself the information that I had that I was relying on when I made that tweet by the way was incomplete. Clearly it was incomplete. Because I was relying on a red line memo and information that had been given to one by the Chief; right, photos, as well as that red line memo, and in fact, right, they were both inaccurate. Because when the actual vehicle inspection was done by GSA, and certified mechanics, right, City of Miami Page 64 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 they found the damage. So, I have an obligation as City Manager to actually get to the truth, right. So, I may have an opinion, right, hut I'm certainly confident enough, right, in my ability to change my opinion when the facts change. So that's the reason why it changed ten days later. Mr Byrne: Isn't it true, sir, that you actually told the Commissioners that you believed the damage to the car was actually caused by the installation of lights? Mr Noriega: No. The Chief told me that, by the way. I never relayed that information to anybody else. The Chief told me that. Mr Byrne: You did not relay that to the Commissioners? Mr Noriega: No. Mr Byrne: But, sir, you would agree with me that you are relying on a survey prepared by the Fraternal Order of Police, an organization you yourself have said are baselessly undermining the Chief. Ms. Marchman: Objection, asked and answered. Mr Byrne: Are you relying on that piece of evidence, sir, or are you going to -- Ms. Marchman: Can we get a ruling on the objection, please? Vice Chair Russell: What is the question? Mr Byrne: I'm asking him ?The is relying, lithe City is relying on a survey prepared by an organization that Manager Noriega has specifically said is baselessly undermining Chief Acevedo. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Asked and answered. Vice Chair Russell: Please, please, gentlemen. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: Did you not ask that before? Mr Byrne: And I'm asking him if he's still relying on that survey? Vice Chair Russell: He clearly said he is as part of this entire -- as one element of this -- of the entire document. What more -- I'm just not following other than answering it to hear him say it again. Mr Byrne: I want him to confirm whether or not he's relying on it. Commissioner Carollo: He already answered that. Vice Chair Russell: It's not necessary. He answered it as a yes. All of us heard it. It's a yes. He is relying on that FOP survey as part of his decision -making process. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: As part. Not partially. Vice Chair Russell: As part of his decision -making process is exactly what I said. City of Miami Page 65 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Reyes: Excuse me, but he also said his personal contact. His personal communication with -- that's howl understood it, you see. 1 mean, that personally he went and he spoke with the -- with the staff, I mean with the police officers and -- and with the brass also. That's what 1 understood. If I am -- Vice Chair Russell: All right. No, we're just addressing whether or not he able to ask this question over again. Please speak through the Chair. He's not. You've been answered. So, you 're good. Please proceed. Mr Byrne: Mr Noriega, you were asked some questions about a video that was shown on the screen there about a protest that Chief Acevedo was present at? Mr Noriega: Yes. Mr Byrne: Do you know whether the individual that Chief Acevedo interacted with in that video was actually a member of the Proud Boys? Mr Noriega: I do know that. Mr Byrne: And do you know that Chief Acevedo was accused by that gentleman of supporting Black Lives Matter and that's what caused that interaction? Mr Noriega: It's irrelevant what caused it. He's the Police Chief of the City of Miami and as so he has to show proper decorum. He sets and example for every one of those officers that work under him, okay. I don t care what he said to him. He's been a police chieffor 15 years, right. Two major cities, right. He's engaged in activity, protests, riots, demonstrations, he's done it. He has a lot of experience. He knows how to handle himself right. He acted inappropriately. I don't care what he said to him, it's irrelevant, right. He needs to set the example. I felt it was an action unbecoming of a chief and he was reprimanded for it. Mr Byrne: Is that a yes, sir? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Mr. Chair? Mr Noriega: I answered yes to whether he was a Proud Boy. You asked me that question. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Can we see the video? Several videos were put -- were played today. Can I see which video they're referring to? Vice Chair Russell: Talking about the video in which the police -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Can I see it again? Vice Chair Russell: Well, which video are we talking about? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Yeah, that's why. Vice Chair Russell: Which video are you referring to? Mr. Byrne: The video that was played -- Ms. Mendez: The protest video. Mr Byrne: -- showing the Chief's interaction with the protester City of Miami Page 66 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: You want to see it again? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Yes, sir If you'll indulge me. Vice Chair Russell: And do we have a -- It's very hard to hear and understand the wording in the video. Is there a transcript of it? To the best of whatever anyone can make it out? Because the audio in here has a bit of an echo. Ms. Marchman: We don't have a transcript, but we could ask the court reporter if he's present, to transcribe it. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: The specific words because it was difficult to understand. I want to make sure we're talking about the same video and what was said in that video from beginning to end. Audiovisual presentation made. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: He uses a bad word there at the beginning, right, and then he says, you're a fool? Is there -- can somebody transcribe that to us and somebody says what he's saying exactly? Something about Houston -- Commissioner Reyes: Commissioner -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: I just want to know what it says. 1 want to make sure that 1 don't miss anything. Commissioner Reyes: What I -- what I understand and what I heard before -- because this came up in the news, it came on the news, was the person -- I don't know who the guy is, asked why are you sending me home? And he said, because it my f'job. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. So, profanity. Commissioner Reyes: That's what (INAUDIBLE). Commissioner Watson: It's what? Ms. Mendez: `F'ing. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: My f'ing job. Ms. Mendez.: But the full word. Commissioner Watson: But it sounded like this guy said something to him that was derogatory. Commissioner Carollo: Through the Chair -- Commissioner Watson: Said something in protest. That's what it sounds like. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Well, he said something like -- Vice Chair Russell: Just a moment, please. Each -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: -- we know your past -- well it's important -- Vice Chair Russell: If anyone would like -- if anyone would like to speak needs to speak through the Chair. City of Miami Page 67 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Well, I'm going through you now 1 want -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Carollo asked to speak through the Chair: You're recognized Commissioner Carollo. Just so we -- this is not an open conversation. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: I thought 1 was recognized that's why. I'm sorry. I apologize. Vice Chair Russell: Not yet. I will. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Recognize me when you have a chance. Commissioner Carollo: If you need to finish I'll gladly -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: No, sir I just want to -- very quick I just want to know what the guy said because I can 't make it out. Commissioner Carollo: All right. Go ahead. I'll wait. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Thank you, Commissioner. Mr. Chair? Vice Chair Russell: What's your question? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: What did he say? Do we have -- can someone tell us what he said because I can't make it out? I have great hearing, I just can't make out what the guy said to him at the end and what leads to it. This is accusation or allegation that something led to it and Commissioner Reyes has explained what led to it because he saw a newscast, a news broadcast of it. So I want to know what was actually said. What the exchange was. That's all. Vice Chair Russell: Right. I think it's clear that nobody up here is specifically able to identify the exact words that he said because it's not on the record. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Well -- Vice Chair Russell: It's been reported in the paper. You can hear it as well as anyone else here. It is difficult to understand -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: So there's no transcript? It hasn't been transcribed? Ms. Mendez: If everyone wants to sit here, you could clearly hear the -- I mean over there the speakers don't work, but here I -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Can we -- get a -- Ms. Mendez: If you do it slowly, you could definitely hear everything that's -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Can we get a transcription of that for the record? Vice Chair Russell: So you are hearing, Madam City Attorney, it's my f'ing job and then you are fool, you're a fool. Is that -- the -- Ms. Mendez: That was part of it, yeah, definitely. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. City of Miami Page 68 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: And what does the guy say to him though? Ms. Mendez: We know your past in Houston. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. (INAUDIBLE). Ms. Mendez: I mean, but if you slow it down you could definitely -- but maybe walk over here. I don't know if the speakers are problematic -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Well maybe the acoustics -- here are not that good in this part of the dais, but okay. That's enough for me. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Byrne, to the point of your question with regard to the video what is it? Mr Bvrne: I didn't have a question. Vice Chair Russell: It was just that you wanted to hear it again. Mr Byrne: Commissioner wanted to hear. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: I wanted to hear it again because you're asking about the interaction. I wanted to make sure that it was accurate. That's all. The record to reflect that, that's all. Mr Byrne: That's all. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Thank you. Nee Chair Russell: All right. Please continue. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Thank you, Commissioner Carollo for indulging me. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: And you, Chair, too. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Carollo, you're recognized. Commissioner Carollo: Look, Mr Byrne, I know that you have to do the best -- Vice Chair Russell: Into the mic. Commissioner Carollo: -- you have to do the best to defend your client and I commend you for that. To the best of my knowledge the person that you are accusing of being a Proud Boy, I don't know if he's a Proud Boy, I don't know if he's a Black Panther, I don't know if he an American Indian, or what he is, but I will tell you something that he is, he's a Marine Corps veteran of the Afghanistan war Now it's easy to nowadays you disagree with someone, throw all these names at them and try to smear them by saying they're members of this group or that group, from the left to the right and everything in between. What he's a member of doesn't matter to me. It shouldn't matter in this equation. If we could play this again, I don't care about the sound or anything -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner? City of Miami Page 69 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Carollo: -- but 1 want to go over with the Manager something in this video. Vice Chair Russell: But before we do, Commissioner, I want to reiterate our job here is not to interject new facts, defend ourselves -- Commissioner Carollo: No, no. Vice Chair Russell: -- that is the job of the other side. If they would like to punch holes in his -- Commissioner Carollo: Look, I -- I understand all that, but the Manager felt strong enough to include this in one of his reasons. And if you could play it slowly. I don't know if you could slow it down? Sometimes by going slow motion you'll see things that you don't see when it's playing normally. And believe you me the things that 1 have found and have protected me in the past, frankly, are major when you go slow motion. Can we put this in slow motion in any way? Nee Chair Russell: Is that possible? Mr. Byrne: I'll trv. I don't know. Audiovisual presentation made. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Can you stop there for a second? Can you stop there for a second? Can you stop it? Okay. Mr. Manager, you see how the Chief is turning away here after he said some words to the individual. Can we put it back in slow motion again. The Chief is turning away when we left it. Go back to slow motion. Forward, not back. Nee Chair Russell: Just play it from here. Just play it from there. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Audiovisual presentation made. Commissioner Carollo: You replayed it. Audiovisual presentation made. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So he walked away. Audiovisual presentation made. Commissioner Carollo: Now he -- okay. Can you stop that there? Audiovisual presentation made. Commissioner Carollo: You see, he came back and it appears to me that it's the young officer that's standing in the way, or trying to stand in the way, of the Chief to going back to the civilian. Is this what you saw here, Mr. Manager, that -- and I don't want to put words in your mouth, but is what concerned you the most here was that it was the highest ranking police officer that we have, or had, in the City that had lost control? He was leaving, then he comes back. And it took a young officer to get in the way, or at least try to get in the way, to try to block a confrontation. City of Miami Page 70 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner -- Commissioner Carollo: Is this what -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner -- Commissioner Carollo: -- concerned you -- V ce Chair Russell: Commissioner, I'm going to ask you again, you are doing the job of the attorney. Commissioner Carollo: Chairman -- Vice Chair Russell: That is not our job in this -- Commissioner Carollo: Chairman, I am doing the job of what I need to do as a Commissioner I'm trying to ascertain from the City Manager if that's the key reason, or not, or is it the swearing, why he put this as one of his reasoning for suspension. Pee Chair Russell: Mr Manager, would you like to answer that question? Mr Noriega: 1 think it's the full embodiment of the interactions. Both the foul language that's used as well as the aggressive nature of the interaction with the individual. It's all of it, right. It's -- no, you can't single out on particular aspect of this. But I'll be honest what's, and has been the most troubling for me is the fact that he's doing it in front of other fellow officers. And as a result that's the example being set. When I had the conversation with him post the release of this video, he acknowledged, right, that he had made a mistake, and he fully accepted the reprimand because he knew he had done wrong. So any -- any excuse being given now with regards to who he was challenged by or the interaction that was made or any justification being made now, he didn't make that justification at the time. He acknowledged that he had made a mistake. Commissioner Carollo: And that brings even more lighting to it, and that's what I was trying to get in this incident. Because maybe from the surface of it, might not seem to the untrained individual, or eye, that it's such a big deal, but I wanted to get your full reaction to understand what parts of it or was it a combination of it all that brought you to this conclusion on this particular incident. Thank you, Mr Manager. Pee Chair Russell: Mr Byrne. Mr Byrne: Thank you. City Manager Noriega, isn't it true that after that incident ChiefAcevedo actually asked you to reprimand him? Mr Noriega: He did, yeah. Mr Byrne: He did? Mr Noriega: He did, which clearly acknowledged that he made a mistake. Correct. Mr. Byrne: Do you think the chief of police asking to be reprimanded for something he believed he had done inappropriately set a good example to members of the City of Miami Police Department? Mr Noriega: No, not at all by the way. Him asking. for the reprimand was him acknowledging that he'd embarrassed himself, and in turn had embarrassed the City, and he was taking ownership alit. Ultimately, you can't do things and constantly ask City of Miami Page 71 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 for forgiveness and that's a way to set an example. If he was 30 years old and this happened, yeah, I might take that into consideration. But he a seasoned law enforcement professional who's been doing this for a very long time. He knows better. He knows better. So, no, it doesn't set a good example. He knows better than to act that way in public. Especially in today's environment where you have camera phones everywhere and you know everything that you 're doing is being scrutinized and videoed. Everything you do is for public consumption, and he knows better Mr Byrne: After that incident, sir that you take such offense at, did you suspend Chief at that moment after that incident? Mr Noriega: No. Mr Byrne: You didn't? Mr Noriega: It didn't rise to the level of suspension, no. Mr Byrne: You didn't suspend him until after he sent the September 24th, 2021 memo to you. Isn't that right, sir? Mr Noriega: The date of the suspension occurs on October 11 th, yes. As the calendar flows, it is after September 24th, yes. But definitely not a result of the September 24th memo. Mr Byrne: Because if it is as a result of that memo you have problems, don't you, sir? Mr Noriega: I don't have any problems. Clearly, the suspension is a result of problems the Chief has in terms of his ability to lead the department. It's ultimately not my problem. Mr Byrne: Sir, were you worried that if you did not take action, suspending Chief Acevedo, that your job might be at risk? Mr Noriega: No. Mr Byrne: Are you concerned that ifyou don't ultimately terminate Chief Acevedo, that your job might be at risk? Mr Noriega: No. Mr Byrne: Sir, is it true that before you suspended Chief Acevedo you met with him personally? Mr Noriega: I've met a number of times with him personally prior to the suspension. Mr Byrne: Immediately before suspending him you met with him personally. Mr Noriega: You've got to be more specific. I -- Mr. Byrne: Did you give him the memorandum outlining the alleged reasons for his termination? Mr. Noriega: Yeah, I met with him in person to deliver the suspension letter of course. Mr Byrne: And before you did that, sir, did you tell Chief Acevedo that if he resigned and if he released claims against the City of Miami, that you would, on behalf of the City of Miami, extend him five months of severance pay? City of Miami Page 72 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Mr. Noriega: 1 did. That's what was represented in his offer letter, the five months severance. It's what's governed as a limit by law, by State Statute. 1 wanted to offer him an opportunity to resolve this in an amicable way. Ultimately, he declined and as a result we ended up with a suspension letter. Mr Byrne: When he declined to release claims against the City of Miami, you suspended him? Mr Noriega: No. Mr Byrne: That didn't happen after he declined your offer? Mr Noriega: He was given two options. He chose the latter; which was the suspension. Mr Byrne: I have no further questions for this witness. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr Byrne: I think there's someone in the crowd who is raising his hand. Ms. Marchman: The City Manager -- the City Manager doesn't have anything further to present with respect to his case. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. That concludes your presentation? Ms. Marchman: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: Mr Clerk, how much time has expired? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): So total, there was roughly 113 minutes associated with the Manager's presentation. Vice Chair Russell: Mr Byrne, you have equal time to respond. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: A request. That includes all the questions that Mr. Byrne already asked. So what's the actual time, the Citv's presentation -- what is the length of the City's presentation vis a vis what he said in his cross examination. The total is 113. Vice Chair Russell: No. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Well, I'm sorry. I'm asking -- Ms. Mendez: If I may -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: -- through you. Ms. Mendez: If may just a brief question. Maybe the better question is to ask Mr. Byrne if he has any witnesses -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: How much time? Ms. Mendez: -- that he wishes to present, and then how much time would you need, and then maybe we can deal with any timing issues. City of Miami Page 73 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: Or we'll let the Chair do this. 113 minutes, not including cross examination, correct? Mr. Byrne, you have equal time to what the City presented if you require it. You said in the beginning you don't need that much time. How much time do you need and how many witnesses would you like to call? Mr Byrne: As I mentioned before, Chief[sic] Russell we object to the timing of this hearing. It violates the Charter of the City, and as a result we didn't have time to prepare our case here. So we do not intend to call witnesses. I believe I've actually established, through my cross examination of the witnesses called by the City Manager, that there is no valid basis for terminating ChiefAcevedo and that the reasons stated in the memo suspending him were pretextual. Vice Chair Russell: Do you have a presentation to make, or would you like to reserve for closing comment? Mr Byrne: I do not have any presentation to make. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. This is your moment to defend your client and the Charter is very clear that this is meant to happen in an expeditious manner Five days is not much time for anyone to prepare anything, but that is the rule of our Charter. So you will have a very hard time telling a judge later that our Charter is unfair. We are not acting outside of the Charter. So if you'd like to defend your client this is the moment. Mr Byrne: The Charter says five days, it does not say calendar days. It should be business days as 1 made the point in the very beginning of this hearing. And as a result we didn't have ample time to prevent our case -- or prepare our case. And as a result we object, and we are not preparing or presenting a separate case today on behalf of the Chief. Vice Chair Russell: I want to give you the fairest opportunity. The Charter does not say how soon it must begin. It could begin the day after the suspension. It must be done within five days. We are completely within our parameters of the Charter. And in fact, if we go beyond we will be delinquent to our Charter which would make our judgment -- Mr Byrne: Chief [sic] Russell, I think it's very clear from what we've seen here today that the City of Miami has been planning their case in chief for some time. We received notice on Monday, which was a holiday. We did not have ample time to prepare and present our case in defense of the Chief But again, based on what we've seen here today, it's very clear that the Commissioners do not have a basis, a valid basis, for terminating Chief Acevedo. The reasons outlined in the memo prepared by City Manager Noriega are plainly pretextual and we've established that through cross examination. They bear the burden in this case; we bear no burden, and so we rest. Vice Chair Russell: That is your right. Commissioner Carollo: Whoa, whoa. Vice Chair Russell: Mr -- Commissioner, Commissioner through the Chair, please. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Did 1 hear you right, counselor, you're resting? Mr. Byrne: That's what I said. Commissioner Carollo: Well, you don't want us to heat -from your client so that we could give him every opportunity to defend himself under oath? Don't you want to put City of Miami Page 74 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 your client up here and go through every one of the items that were outlined in the Manager's dismissal letter? Ms. Mendez: Commissioner Carollo, I believe he's rested, and he chosen -- Commissioner Carollo: Well, but I'm trying to be as fair to them -- Ms. Mendez: No, I know you are -- Commissioner Carollo: -- as I possibly -- Ms. Mendez: I know you are. Commissioner Carollo: -- could be. So I could hear from Mr Acevedo himself: Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner, I've asked him three times. They're resting. Mr Byrne: And I'll just say for the record, Commissioner Carollo, respectfully, if ChiefAcevedo could say anything that would make any difference he would. Commissioner Carollo: Well, it might -- Mr Byrne: it very clear -- Commissioner Carollo: 1t might -- Mr Byrne: It's very clear -- Pee Chair Russell: Commissioner, please. Mr Byrne: It's very clear here what's going on. This is clearly -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: What's going on is you're preparing -- you're preparing a legal case -- Vice Chair Russell: Please, please. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: what's going on here. That's what's very clear Vice Chair Russell: Mr Byrne, Mr. Byrne -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: That's what's very clear here. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. What we're going to do is -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Because if he's right he would defend himself. He would have the courage to come here -- Vice Chair Russell: Please. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: -- and defend himself. Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: He had the courage to write a false memo full of lies, you should have the courage to stand up here and address this Commission. The courage and the guts to do it. He clearly does not. And I rest mine. City of Miami Page 75 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: What are you resting? Commissioners, you are simply taking the bait to show your bias. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Vice Chair Russell: He is -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: It not bias. It's a case. Vice Chair Russell: He is resting. That is his case. (COMMENTS MADE OFF THE RECORD) Commissioner Carollo: Mr -- Ms. Mendez: Well, if I may though -- Commissioner Carollo: Chairman Russell, I really resent -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: So do I. Commissioner Carollo: -- statements that you're making. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Sure. Commissioner Carollo: You know, you want to be like my mother used to say when she was younger, in better health, you know, you want to be in church with the rosary in hand and kneeling down with the devil. You know, you can't be in both places. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE). Commissioner Carollo: You know, you can't be -- you know, I know that you've got this campaign for the Senate statewide -- Vice Chair Russell: There we go. Commissioner Carollo: -- and everything and so on, but look -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner, you're out of order Commissioner Carollo: No, I'm not out of order. Vice Chair Russell: You're out of order. Commissioner Commissioner Carollo: When you make statements that could be detrimental to this City, just like the stupid decisions you made a few years ago that cost the City $20 million in Watson Island and over $6 million in attorney's fees. I'm sorry. Now I do want to ask, before I make my, determination, because -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner, you are out of order. We're not to that point yet, we're not making a determination at this point. Commissioner Carollo: Oh no -- Vice Chair Russell: I have tried very hard to control this dais so that your emotions, your opinions of this case don't reflect on this procedure, to keep this procedure as City of Miami Page 76 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 clean as possible so that the City's position is defensible. What Mr Byrne has done has baited you -- Commissioner Carollo: It's not my opinion. It's my opinion ofyour actions, sir. I'm not talking about the case; I'm talking about your actions. One thing has nothing to do with the other Vice Chair Russell: Whose actions? Commissioner Carollo: Your actions here by making statements that have nothing -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Can we -- Commissioner Carollo: -- to do with what's been happening. Ms. Mendez: So if I may just -- just two questions, please. First of all, I want to make sure that this Commission wanted, if possible, to hear from Chief Acevedo. Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Yes. Ms. Mendez: Okay. And that if ChiefAcevedo had anything to add, this Commission does not have any bias at all with regard to anything that they have heard here today. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Ms. Mendez: Okay. I just wanted to clarify that because -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: That's very clear. Ms. Mendez: -- I don't like that word, because we are here trying to give everybody as fair of an opportunity in order to address the Charter, address the Manager's charges in the charging document, and if the Chief wanted to say anything, he has the floor to say that. And I think that is what Commissioner Carollo was trying to get out. Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: The same thing here. Vice Chair Russell: But Madam City Attorney -- Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Chair, what's in order now? Is there a motion? Vice Chair Russell: Madam City Attorney? There is no motion at this moment. We're not done with hearing both sides. Ms. Mendez: Right. So there's closings. Vice Chair Russell: So we are not done. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: This has gotten really out of hand, gentlemen. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Not really. City of Miami Page 77 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: It has. It has. We're bringing many, things into this case that have nothing to do with this case. Commissioner Carollo: Well you said we 're not done -- Vice Chair Russell: Please, Commissioner. You do not have the floor. Commissioner Carollo: No, listen. You're Chair -- Vice Chair Russell: You do not have the floor Commissioner Carollo: Let me get a vote to overrule this man. Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner, you do not have the floor Commissioner Carollo: I want to have a vote right now -- Ms. Mendez: Well no, no, no. Nee Chair Russell: I'm trying to get order -- Commissioner Carollo: -- to overrule you and I can get the floor: Ms. Mendez: Closing arguments. Vice Chair Russell: Mr -- no, no. The Commissioner would like to make a motion. Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Ms. Mendez: No, no. That -- no motion at this time, we still have closing arguments. Nee Chair Russell: No, there shouldn't be. You're absolutely right, but the Commissioner is trying to make a motion. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: The motion is to overrule the Chair Ms. Mendez: Closing arguments -- Commissioner Carollo: That's right. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Well whatever the motion is -- it's his motion, Chair, let him make it. Vice Chair Russell: Well that's what I'm waiting to hear. So, Madam City Attorney, any Commissioner up here, there's a misconception of what my role is here, this is to conduct the meeting. I cannot control what a Commissioner says. If a Commissioner would like to speak and be recognized he can. He can say what he would like. I can try to encourage him not to bias himself by not being editorial on what is going on or not playing the role of the prosecutor or the defense. We are here as a judge. Now if that comes back on me for trying to control the meeting, I'll take it. But we have yet to hear the closing arguments of both sides. You would like to hear from the Chief but neither side has called the Chief What is your motion? Commissioner Carollo: Si,, my motion is very clear for you to let me speak. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: And I will second that motion. City of Miami Page 78 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Vice Chair Russell: You know what. I'll second that motion. Commissioner, you have the floor. Commissioner Carollo: Thank: you. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Good. Thank von. Commissioner Carollo: One side rested. Madam City Attorney, they rested. Ms. Mendez: They rested, so they don't have a case that they wish to present even though you gave them ample opportunity to try and -- Commissioner Carollo: 1 understand that. Ms. Mendez: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: Now, Mr Russell is saying that they could come back now and speak. Ms. Mendez: Right. Now it would be closing arguments by both parties and if you would like to give a time limit for each to do their closing argument, that's all that needs to happen now. Commissioner Carollo: All right. So now both sides are going to have the closing arguments? Ms. Mendez: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: Going further in what 1 wanted to address because this is all part of what at least 1 need to make final determination on each point. There's eight points here and some of them have more than one item in the individual points. And the counselor representing Mr Acevedo keeps referring to the date of September 24th, September 24th. The original statement that he made was that all of this, then he said practically all of this that the Manager put down happened before September 24th. And what he was trying to elude, if not outright stated, was that this memo was done because of the September 24th memo. So what I'm trying to go through, and I made notes on the different items to see which is before or after For instance, in Number 1(b) it says: 10/1/21 witness says Deputy Chief verbally assaulted his executive staff after Commission meeting and did not intervene. Mr. Manager did this happen before September 24th? Was there a mistake in the date you put down here, or the testimony that was given? Or did this happen after September 24th? Mr Noriega: It occurred after September 24th. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Then let me go further down. Number 7, you state: The Chief disobeyed a directive by the Manager when he made an employment offer which exceeded the pay range and other -- this is smeared a little bit, I can ' read it, emoluments for the position. " (A) says the Chief made an employment offer to Heather Morris where the salary and emoluments of the offer exceeded those commensurate with the position. Did this happen before September 24th, or did it happen after? Mr. Noriega: It occurred afterwards. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Then we have in Number 8, the Chief's action plan to lead the department moving forward was materially deficient. The two significant problems in the department are officer morale and community relations. You have (A) the Chiefs self -evaluation did not recognize the reality of the morale problem; (B) the City of Miami Page 79 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Chief's action plan did not acknowledge the strained community relations; and (C) the Chief presented no significant plan to solve either problem. Did this happen before or after September 24th? Mr Noriega: After September 24th. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Then let me go hack to two others. Number 4, the Chief failed to initially report damage to his vehicle even after finding out there was damage. He did not report the damage until ten days later (A) the Chief has terminated members of the City of Miami Police Department for failure to follow proper procedure protocols. In this instance, the Chieffailed to follow proper procedure protocols without acceptable explanation. Now when did you find out that certified mechanics in the motor pool inspected this vehicle and came to the conclusion -- these are the experts we have in the City that are certified mechanics that came to the conclusion that there had been damage to this vehicle. Was it before September 24th or after September 24th? Mr Noriega: After September 24th. Commissioner Carollo: Now let me go back to the following: the Chieffailed to report -- this is Number 6 by the way, the Chieffailed to report personal time vacation time. (A) the Chief took 21 days leave time and did not properly report his absence from work so that his absence could be recorded in the City s time keeping system. Did you find this out before September 24th or after September 24th? Mr Noriega: After September 24th. Commissioner Carollo: So, out of the eight general points that you suspended Mr. Acevedo, in eight of them, they happened after September 24th. I want to clear that up because -- Ms. Mendez: Did you say in eight of them? Commissioner Carollo: Well, there's eight that he put down in -- excuse me. Commissioner Reyes: No -- Commissioner Carollo: And in five of them out of the eight -- Commissioner Reyes: Before. Commissioner Carollo: -- there are elements' -- or totally the item happened -- Commissioner Reyes: Before. Commissioner Carollo: -- after September 24th. So what I'm trying to do here is separate before and after Because if the counselor representing Mr Acevedo doesn't want us to make a determination for anything before September 24th, then I'm going to make my decisions on everything that happened after September 24th. Thank you. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Having heard that -- Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes would you like to be recognized? Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Is there a motion about this? Vice Chair Russell: No, we still have work to do. City of Miami Page 80 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Reyes: Huh? Ms. Mendez: We still have to -- Vice Chair Russell: We still have work to do. Ms. Mendez: -- listen to the closings. Commissioner Reyes: Oh, we have work to do. Okay. Can we please go and listen what -- I mean, I guess the defense doesn't have anything else to say. Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Ms. Mendez: That's what we need to confirm. So how long -- Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Just please confirm if you have anything to say. Then let's have the closing statement from both of them and let's vote on this and that's what we're here for Ms. Mendez: Thank you, Commissioner Reyes. Vice Chair Russell: Madam City Attorney. I have this. Ms. Mendez: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes, great idea. We are going to hear closing arguments now from both sides. I'd like you to limit it each to ten minutes, please. And then we'll be done and then we can vote. Ms. Marchman: Would you like me to come down to the lectern? Vice Chair Russell: You can do it from there. Ms. Marchman: Okay. In terms of the process, I just want to speak to you a little bit about that because the Chief's counsel has raised concerns regarding process. I will tell you that I have represented public sector clients my entire career I have represented management in numerous labor arbitrations, too many to account for, and in fact I handled one on Tuesday, and we did not exchange exhibits with the other side until we got to the hearing. It is very common in administrative proceedings and quasi-judicial proceedings for them to be more informal. I will say to you this process today. in my experience, has been very fair. Each side has been represented by thoughtful and skilled counsel. Each side has had the chance to present witnesses. You have had the chance to hear sworn testimony and consider any evidence presented by either side. You've had the chance to ask questions yourself. There are not strict Rules of Evidence in this type of proceeding and that s not the norm. I commend you on the proceeding that you've conducted today, and conducting it within the parameters of your Charter, which required this hearing and the judgment to be rendered within five days. I will tell you that in terns of the exhibit book, we finished it 30 minutes before the hearing, and we have been working around the clock to prepare for the hearing today. I did not know that this hearing was happening until Tuesday night after I conducted my labor arbitration. So we -- we have done our best to prepare and present a case to you within the confines of the Charter. Again, I commend everybody involved with respect to what was presented today. I ask that you consider the evidence that was presented to you today and I know it's awkward to set aside everything else that you have experienced or heard with respect to the City Manager and the Chief and I implore you to just consider what you've heard today and the City of Miami Page 81 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 testimony you've heard, including the cross-examination conducted by the Chiefs counsel and the exhibit book that was admitted into evidence and to make your decision based on that evidence alone. And I ask you and -- to find that there is substantial, competent evidence to approve of the suspension of the Chief and to remove him ultimately from the position from that department. You have before you the Chiefs -- the City Manager's suspension letter with the eight reasons for why he suspended the Chief after six months as Chief of the Miami Police Department. Under your Charter, any one of those reasons is sufficient to remove him from his position. There are eight reasons. In terms of the timing of the reasons, whether it was before the memo of September 24th or after, there are some incidents, 1 believe three incidents related to statements that the Chief made causing concerns within the community prior to the memo. There are also things that happened after. But you heard testimony from the City Manager that that was not the basis for his decision to suspend the Chief. In fact, he met with the Chief and asked him, let's find a way forward. Let's do an action plan, let's figure out how we move forward. That's in Exhibit 8 where the City Manager acknowledges that there's problems here. He tries to get the Chief to move forward. Rather than moving forward and coming up with a plan to ensure that the Miami Police Department has effective leadership and is able to serve the community with -- with which it's charged to serve, the Chief sends a message to his assistants which is in Page -- Page 101 to 102, asking his assistants to essentially do the plan for him. From what I can tell from the evidence, it appears the Chief wrote the cover letter to the action plan, which you can find at Page 103 of the materials. When the City Manager received the action plan that he had requested, at that point he knew that it was time to move on because the Chief failed to recognize or acknowledge what the issues were. He says, and 1'rn -- I'll quote directly from the letter: '1 believe the first six months of my administration on balance has been successful as it relates to operations, crime fighting, employee relations, and community relations." The evidence before you shows otherwise and how -- how is the City Manager able to help the Chief move forward with respect to this department and effectively lead the department if the Chief himself does not recognize or acknowledge that there's problems? That's why ultimately the Manager issued the suspension letter to you and the Chief October 11 th of this week. I ask you to affirm the suspension, issue a judgment removing the Chieffrom om office. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr Byrne, do you have a closing argument? Mr. Byrne: Thank you, Chief Russell. I don't have much to say here other than this. I think we all have seen from the evidence here today, from the participation of the Commissioners here today, that ChiefAcevedo wasn't suspended for this. Chief Acevedo was suspended for this. This is the memo that he wrote on September 24th, 2021, and this is the reason we're here today. It's not right, it's not fair, and I hope that the Commissioners here, together can come together and do the right thing because the people are watching, the nation is watching, and we deserve better That's all I have to say on behalf of the Chief and well await your decision. Thank you. City of Miami Page 82 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 NA.1 10926 City Commission NA - NON -AGENDA ITEM(S) RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ENTERING A JUDGMENT, BASED ON THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED, AFFIRMING THE SUSPENSION OF CHIEF OF POLICE HUBERT "ART" ACEVEDO AND REMOVING CHIEF OF POLICE HUBERT "ART" ACEVEDO "EO INSTANTE" (IMMEDIATELY). ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-21-0435 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Alex Diaz de Ia Portilla, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Russell, Diaz de Ia Portilla, Carollo, Reyes, Watson Note for the Record: A motion was made by Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, determining that public comment during the quasi-judicial proceeding was not legally required by State Statute, City Code and County Code, which motion PASSED by the following vote: AYES: Commissioners Diaz de la Portilla, Carollo, Reyes and Watson NOES: Commissioner Russell. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Both sides have closed their argument. Commissioners, is there a motion? Commissioner Carollo: Before -- Nee Chair Russell: Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla has a motion. Commissioner Carollo: Before -- Vice Chair Russell: Just a moment. Just a moment, Commissioner Carollo. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: I move that we ratify the Manager's recommendation to the City. Commissioner Reyes: I'll second. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: This is a resolution of the Miami City Commission entering a judgment based on the evidence presented affirming -- Commissioner Carollo: Discussion. Vice Chair Russell: Just a moment, Commissioner. Affirming the suspension of Chief of Police Hubert Art Acevedo and removing Chief of Police Hubert Art Acevedo (FOREIGN LANGUAGE), immediately, is that your motion? Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla: Yes, sir. That's exactly my motion. Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes was that your second? City of Miami Page 83 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Based on the -- on the evidence, 1'rn seconding the vote. Vice Chair Russell: Open for discussion. You are recognized Commissioner Carollo. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Mr. Acevedo, I know that both sides have done their closing argument, but I am more than willing to open it up again to give you even' opportunity for you to come up here under oath and address, point by point, to defend yourself on the eight main points that the Manager has suspended you under Now this one, you're in full command. There's no one, no one that can say you can't speak, you can't do this. You're in command, full command. Your attorney, you hired him. So he can't tell you you cant speak if you want to. 1 certainly would like to hear from you, under oath, before I make my final determination. This is your opportunity, sir But ifyou refuse to take it, I can certainly understand. (COMMENTS MADE OFF THE RECORD) Commissioner Reyes: That will be in court. Vice Chair Russell: Is there any further discussion before we vote? Commissioner Watson: Yeah. Let me say as I've said before, both publicly and privately, and 1 'm not so sure kind of in what vain because we was given strict instructions and told this really wasn't a Commission meeting, but a quasi-judicial proceeding; and so 1 think for members of the public and ourselves, I'll make sure my comments are not detrimental to whatever judicial proceedings that will go forward from here. I think the issue of process and effect as the closing arguments were given has come back to in effect bite us. And so from that perspective, the whole cliche of demise by a thousand cuts winds up being fairly appropriate. It may not be that any of us had decided already what to do, but waited to intently listen to what we thought may or may -- may or may not make sense in the context of the proceedings. I remember the promise of 2012, and we all gathered as fans and waited for the beginning of the big three. In the very first year that it came together, there was supposed to be champions. I remember the promise of February 2021, when on a Zoom call I was excited about the opportunity and the process to get a big fish. Understanding that although the process in fact was bifurcated, the many members of our community who sat through many hours of interviews, we believed that we had a big fish. And although I do agree with a number of things that were done from the professional perspective of the Chief I do also understand while any one item may not rise to the occasion of a suspension in the aggregate, his superiors exercised his managerial duty to bring forth this action. I just met the Chief, but I do know the Manager, and he has been an admirable and adept manager in this town for a long, long time. And so since we have been asked to decide on whether or not we accept or reject the Manager's recommendation based on the aggregate of information that we're working with and for the relief of the Chief as he goes forward in defense of his position, I just want to make sure from the public's perspective and from ours, we believe in the Manager and what should happen and needs to happen is this time, in order for us to get back to the focus of the public safety of the residents of the City of Miami. And so therefore, I wanted to make those comments for the record. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Is there any further comment? For my part as the presiding officer, I -- there's been comment that today was a waste of time, that it was a predetermined outcome, but the waste of time for me today is that the proper defense wasn't given. I understand Commissioner Carollo's frustration because he wanted to hear that point by point. How can we side with you ifyou don't defend yourself against the points that are raised? If an eight point accusation is made and you give no defense, what do you leave this body with? We cant defend you if you don't defend City of Miami Page 84 Printed on 07/03/2024 City Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 ADJOURNMENT yourself unless the greater legal strategy is to take this all to a higher court on a different premise. Commissioner Reyes: Yes, you're right. Vice Chair Russell: So, if that the case I do feel that this was an exercise in futility because the predetermined notion was determined by your side by not defending your client. That's very frustrating for me because I believe there are points and counter points on many of these issues that have been raised, but it wasn't defended, and it wasn't brought and that's -- that's frustrating to me. But that is your choice, that is your choice as your defense, and I believe 1 understand your motivation in doing so. Is there any further discussion before we vote? Commissioner Reyes: Mr Chair? Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes, you're recognized. Commissioner Reyes: Now that you mentioned that it is obvious that the lack of defense has an ulterior motive. That's all have to say. The memo and everything else. Call the roll please. Commissioner Carollo: Can you call the roll please? Vice Chair Russell: Yes. All in favor of the motion say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Vice Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes unanimous. We are adjourned. The meeting adjourned at 7.•49 p.m. City of Miami Page 85 Printed on 07/03/2024