Sep 11, 2007 10:42 pm US/Eastern
City Manager Delays On Reprimanding Miami PD Chief
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MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Contrary to what he said last week, Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez will not be reprimanding the city's police chief in coming days for a scandal involving the free use of a Lexus from a local dealership.
Pete Hernandez says he will wait for Miami-Dade County's Ethics Committee investigation report to be out before taking action in the case.
"I'm going to hold back, and allow them time for them to complete the investigation," said Hernandez.
But some say some inside politics might be the cause of Hernandez's change of mind, and some commissioners still want Timoney to resign.
"If there is no punishment metered out to the chief of police, then I will continue calling for his resignation," said Commissioner Marc Sarnoff.
Last week Hernandez announced that Police Chief John Timoney would be reprimanded in coming days for his accepting of a free Lexus SUV loaned to him by a local dealership. This is the second time Hernandez changes his mind, as originally he said he would not take any action until an ethics investigation was completed. Last week Hernandez cited that Timoney apologized and admitted to what he had done, and several agencies opened investigations in the case--including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)--as reason for a reprimand.
"Here is something that he admitted," said Hernandez. "It was a horrible error in judgment."
CBS 4 News has learned that the FDLE has been asked to conduct an investigation into the chief's use of the free luxury automobile and whether that violated the police department's policy against members accepting gifts.
CBS4's Gary Nelson has confirmed that the request from Internal Affairs investigators at the Miami Department has been submitted to Amos Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FDLE'S Miami office.
FDLE spokesperson Paige Patterson tells CBS4 News, "We did receive a complaint from the City of Miami Internal Affairs Unit and we are in the process of reviewing it."
The complaint was filed with the Miami Police Department by former Miami Chief of Police Kenneth Harms who has also filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Sources tell CBS4 News that Miami Police Department investigators referred the matter to the FDLE rather than be placed in the awkward position of investigating their own boss.
Chief Timoney accepted free use of a Lexus SUV from Lexus of Kendall for more than a year, a deal exposed by a CBS4 News investigation.
Miami Police Department policy says members "shall not accept gifts, fees, goods or services."
Chief Timoney is also being investigated by the Miami Dade Ethics Commission and Florida Commission on Ethics over his use of the Lexus.
The FDLE has also been asked to investigate allegations that the Miami Police Department has falsified crime statistics under Timoney's leadership to make the crime picture in Miami appear better than it is.
Timoney has denied those allegations, and has requested an investigation of his own into the matter.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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