Jan 25, 2008 8:19 am US/Eastern
Timoney's Fee-Free SUV Deal Before Commission
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Miami's Civilian Investigative Panel postponed a hearing earlier this month into Miami police Chief John Timoney's use of a fee-free SUV and now Miami Commissioners are questioning why that hearing was cancelled.
That hearing was supposed to take place January 11th. The CIP, which probes complaints about police, had even obtained a court-order for Chief Timoney to appear and answer questions about his use of free luxury Lexus SUV in an apparent violation of his own department's policy.
The CIP is also looking into whether Miami's top police officer violated the department's policy on truthfulness due to the fact that he first denied he was getting the Lexus, from Lexus of Kendall, for free.
However, Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez told the CIP he was going to challenge the court ordered appearance obtained by the CIP, claiming they do not have the authority to investigate Miami's top cop.
Timoney has even told the CIP, "It is my contention that this panel has no jurisdiction over me."
Even after a judge ordered Timoney to testify, he has refused.
Now, CBS4 News has uncovered a memo from Miami City Attorney Jorge Fernandez to postpone the investigation and Pete Hernandez has said he doesn't believe the CIP panel has the right to investigate the chief, only the regular police officers.
"The Chief may be the only one that could not be subpoenaed by the CIP. Every other officer could, including the deputy chief," said Hernandez during Thursday's commission meeting.
"The voters were not informed. You can vote for the CIP but remember the CIP cannot investigate the chief," said Commissioner Tomas Regalado. Regalado is upset that city officials are interefering with the investigation.
City Manager Hernandez defends his decision saying the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission is investigating and so the CIP shouldn't get involved, at least not right now.
There will be a Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission meeting on January 31st. The Ethics Commission has found probable cause to believe that Timoney had broken the law.
Chief Timoney is also supposed to go before the CIP on February 1st.
The CIP first subpoenaed Chief Timoney on November 30th, 2007 and a hearing was set for December 6th but he backed out the day before he was set to testify.
A second subpoena was issued December 10th. While he did show up for a CIP meeting a week and a half later, he said he was there of his own volition and not because of a subpoena.
He went on to say that he believes the CIP does not have jurisdiction over him and he refused to testify or produce any of the documents identified in the subpoena.
The CIP wants Timoney to turn over hundreds of pages of records related to a city probe into his free use of that luxury Lexus SUV. He has not turned over any of the records.
On January 4th, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Victoria Sigler ordered Chief Timoney to comply with the CIP's subpoena. He still hasn't done so.
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