• Font Size    

Highway Hijackers Video Extra

Highway Hijackers Target Cargo
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Panel: Chief Timoney Violated Rules Over SUV

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +
Jul 16, 2008 5:22 pm US/Eastern

Panel: Chief Timoney Violated Rules Over SUV

Timoney Has Previously Been Fined For Breaking State And County Ethics Laws

MIAMI (CBS4) ― Miami's Civilian Investigative Panel on Tuesday found Police Chief John Timoney violated multiple internal police department rules in his much-publicized decision to accept the use of a free Lexus.

Miami's Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) said in its investigation of Miami Police Chief John Timoney that he lied to the media and to investigators who were probing his use of a free luxury vehicle. It's a story that CBS4 Reporter Gary Nelson broke nearly a year ago.

The CIP, charged with probing alleged police wrongdoing, found Timoney  guilty of violating state law and his own department's policies through his free use of a luxury SUV courtesy of Lexus of Kendall.

Chairperson Brenda Shapiro of the CIP said, "I believe that everything in this incident is conduct unbecoming a police officer."

The panel found Timoney violated department rules against taking gifts, and more serious, found that he was untruthful in sworn statements he gave about, among other things, how long he had the free car.

"He told the Florida and county ethics commissions that he only had it 12 months.  The dealership said it was more like 21 months," said Steve Wolf, an investigator with CIP.

The CIP charged Timoney also misled the media.  When CBS4 first asked the chief about his Lexus, he denied getting it for free. In fact, the dealer said he had given it to him for "promotional" purposes.

"Since when do sworn police officers act as advertisers for private products?  What's next, do we have police officers dressing in uniforms like NASCAR uniforms?," questioned CIP member Thomas Cobitz.

The police officers union on Wednesday renewed its call that Timoney be fired - the punishment it says any other cop would suffer if found to be untruthful.

"He's fired people for being untruthful; other chiefs of police have fired people for being untruthful. As a police officer, your credibility is all you have," Armando Aguilar, said city police union president.

Timoney's boss, Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez, reserved judgment.
A spokesman told Nelson, "The manager is not prepared to comment.  He has not yet received the findings of the Civilian Investigative Panel."

The manager's boss, Mayor Manny Diaz, was not available for comment, but was quick to forgive the police chief early on in the Lexus scandal in August 2007.

But that was before Timoney was formally accused of untruthfulness under oath.

Miami's police chief has now been rebuked by the Florida Ethics Commission, fined and reprimanded by the County Ethics Commission which called him "disingenuous," and now has been - essentially - labeled untruthful by the CIP.

Timoney did not respond to CBS4 requests for comment to this report.



(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Videos of the weirdest and wildest pets

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Local News

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.