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Miami Chief Buys Controversial Loaner SUV

City Manager Calls For Ethics Investigation Of Chief Timoney's Actions

Click Here To Read John Timoney's Statement

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Miami Police Chief John Timoney confirmed he purchased a Lexus SUV, which the City of Miami ordered him to return, after CBS4 revealed he was driving as a loaner he had not paid for.

Tuesday night Timoney issued a statement, saying he has been a long-time customer of Lexus of Kendall, and he was given the vehicle to consider it as the next one to lease when his current lease is up. In the statement he said he did not feel he had broken any rules or done anything unethical, emphasizing that he was trying out the car that he intended to lease.

He stated: "The last thing that I want is for my actions to be perceived as anything other than beyond reproach. Therefore, this afternoon I purchased the vehicle in question."

Miami's city manager has ordered his chief of police to return a luxury SUV he had been driving for free to the dealership that owns it, action taken in reaction to a CBS4 News investigation that revealed the free car deal.

Miami Police Chief John Timoney has been driving the Lexus hybrid SUV for as long as a year according to three employees of the dealership that supplied it, Lexus of Kendall. A spokesman for the chief admitted Timoney was not paying for the car, which dealership employees estimated would lease for over $700 monthly.

A spokesman for the Chief claimed Timoney had been loaned the car by the dealership for a test drive, because he was considering buying one. Originally, the spokesman said the chief was paying toe the car, which bore dealer plates that made it illegal for the car to be leased or rented.

Following the CBS4 investigation, Miami city manager Pete Hernandez Tuesday issued orders that the car, valued in excess of $50 thousand, be returned to the dealership immediately.

"He said it would be returned by tomorrow," Hernandez told CBS4's Gary Nelson.

Hernandez said he has not ruled out disciplinary action against the chief, and has asked the Miami-Dade Ethics commission to investigate possible violations of state ethics law. The commission said Thursday it has begun gathering information for just such an investigation

The Florida ethics commission said the law requires any goods or services valued over $100 to be reported, including something as simple as a birthday gift from a friend.

An examination of the Miami Police Department's internal rules about accepting gifts raises questions about Timoney's fee-free use of the car, but a statement from the chief's Executive Assistant Monday said the chief doesn't believe his use of the car violates the law, because it was accepted from a dealership outside the city that does no business with the city.

"His behavior has clearly violated the rules and regulations, policies and procedures of the Miami Police Department," said Ken Harms, a former Miami police chief who helped write the policy. "For him to suggest otherwise means one of 2 things; either he simply doesn't know, or he's misrepresenting his position."

Chief Timoney met with Hernandez for about an hour Tuesday, but declined comment when approached as he left city hall.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said he would withhold judgment on the Chief's action until the investigation is complete. Commissioner Tomas Regalado said he would like to see a wider investigation, Herms said he would like to see an outside law enforcement organization such as the FDLE open its own investigation.

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