Nov 2, 2009 7:44 pm US/Eastern
James Loftus Begins As Interim Police Director
DORAL (CBS4) ―
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James Loftus named Interim Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department following the resignation of Robert Parker.
CBS
James Loftus is a 26 year veteran with the Miami-Dade Police Department. He also is the new interim director of that department, the largest in the southeastern U.S. The chief of major investigations was thrust into the role Monday upon the sudden retirement of Bobby Parker.
Parker left, at least in part, because he did not want to take a five-percent pay cut, one mandated for all non-union county employees.
Loftus said of Parker, "You have to realize they (police directors) are a father figure for us. There is going to be an ebb and flow in morale, and it is my assignment to try and pick that up and get us going in the right direction."
Loftus is hit with a pay cut too. So is his command staff. He also faces belt tightening within the department, though he says manpower on the streets is not being affected by the county's budget crisis.
The new interim director said, "We all have mortgages and car payments but we really don't get into this (job) because it's going to be one of the most lucrative financially." He added, "We still have this overriding principle that we have to get this work done. A lot of people rely on us."
The police union, meanwhile, is digging in it heels over proposed pay cuts for rank and file police. Loftus says he will work with labor and management to do what he can to help resolve the stalemate.
As for his own goals, Loftus would like to be named permanent police director, but will not grandstand for the position.
"I could never say I'm the better guy," he told reporters, "I think everyone brings something to the table."
Mayor Carlos Alvarez said he will hire from within the department, though he does not expect to make any decision until after the turn of the year. In the meantime, it will be up to James Loftus, a career policeman, a husband and dad, and someone who calls himself "honored" to hold down the interim post, to keep his hand firmly on the helm.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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