A selection committee helping to pick the next Hialeah police chief has narrowed the list down to six candidates and will interview each of them Wednesday before providing a shortlist of three to Mayor Esteban Bovo.
The finalists from the 33 applicants from as far away as Alaska who qualified for the job are:
Biscayne Park Police Chief Luis Cabrera Former Portsmouth, VA, Police Chief Tonya Chapman, Virginia’s first black female city police chief who said she was forced to resign when she tried to change the department’s cultureMiami Beach Police Major David de la Espriella, past president of the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of PoliceHialeah Acting Chief George Fuente, husband of former Councilwoman Katherine Cue-FuenteMiami-Dade Police Major Alfredo G-Larrinaga of the Northwest DistrictCoral Gables Major Raul Pedroso
The committee added Chapman and G-Larrinaga in a second round, but she feels more like a two-fer token for both women and blacks. Maybe for gringos, too. But if she doesn’t speak fluid Spanish, Chapman can’t possibly be a serious candidate.
Español was not one of the requirements for the job leading the force of 400 officers and civilian personnel in the second largest city in Miami-Dade. But it should have been, because the city wants someone who can connect with the community better than the last chief, who did the opposite.
Read related: Esteban Bovo solidly wins his second place prize job: Mayor of Hialeah
The recruitment brochure prepared by former Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, who helped the city through the search process, says Hialeah seeks a “transformational leader inspiring the confidence of the community and the department’s personnel alike.
“The ideal candidate shall exercise the highest level of integrity, performing responsibly, efficiently and effectively in the oversight and management of the police budget.
An outstanding communicator who speaks clearly, assertively and transparently with all stakeholders, the new chief will ensure that the organizational culture is one of openness and transparency where every member of the department is inspired to perform as a team. A visionary, experienced leader who adheres to the strictest principles of accountability is the ideal candidate for this position.
The ideal candidate will be an innovative and compassionate leader committed to using community-focused, data-informed, and victim centered policing strategies. Drawing from the six pillars identified in the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the new chief will adopt and implement nationally recognized best practices in policing to enhance quality of life and make public safety for the residents of Hialeah a top priority.”
Keyword: Ideal.
Las malas lenguas say that Fuente has the inside track as the favorite. And he did get the highest ranking with six out of seven committee votes.
But the list of the selectors is just as, if not more interesting. Chosen by Bovo and his executive staff, the selection committee includes former Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who lives in Coral Gables y no pinta nada ahí. In fact, the only certain Hialeah resident is Council President Carl Zogby.
The other members are:
Mandy Llanes, president of the Hialeah Chamber of Commerce & IndustriesFanny Marino, owner and president of American Advanced Technician Institute (and Southwest Ranches resident and voter)Bal Harbor Police Chief Raleigh Flowers, who rose to the rank of major at Hialeah PoliceHialeah Gardens Police Chief Luis Diaz, who also used to be a Hialeah copCity of North Miami Police Chief Larry Juriga, who seems to be a bit political, according to Stephanie Kienzle‘s Voters’ Opinion blog, a must read for anyone interested in North Miami or North Miami Beach.
Do the taxpaying citizens of Bal Harbor and North Miami know their chiefs are spending the day in the City of Progress Wednesday?
Read related: New Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo ditches Police Chief Sergio Velazquez
This eclectic group reviewed resum´és and interest letters on Feb. 15. They also heard from Human Resources Director Elsa Jaramillo-Velez on personnel, City Attorney Lorena Bravo on legal matters and former Chief Colina and his former assistant in Miami, Orlando Aguilera, now as The Jorge Colina Group, on the process.
Colina and Aguilera have also helped find the new chiefs for Key Biscayne and Cooper City and are helping Miami-Dade College recruit a new Dean of Public Safety. His marching orders in Hialeah was to find someone “very transparent, vocal and very engaged in the community,” Colina told Ladra.
“Ideally someone from South Florida,” Colina said. “We didn’t want to exclude an excellent candidate, but we wanted someone who understands the area and the culture.
“We’ve had people come in before from a different state and they could just not adjust,” Colina said, and Ladra is certain she heard a smile on his face. Could he have meant former Miami Chief Art Acevedo, who lasted all of six months on the job after being recruited from Houston, Texas? Um, duh!
The new Hialeah Police Chief will walk into a department with low morale. Officers feel that they are not supported. Residents are used to seeing their hometown department on the 11 o’clock news — and not in a good way.
Last year, two officers were arrested for writing fake traffic tickets and another was arrested for off-duty DUI. But that’s nothing compared to the arrest a year earlier on federal charges of Jesus Menocal, Jr., who had been promoted despite allegations of sexual assault and abuse of power.
Hialeah’s top cop will get a salary between $150,000 and $200,000 a year and benefits that include medical, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, vacation leave, sick leave (which accrues monthly), personal leave, 12 paid holidays a year, a defined benefit pension plan, a 457 plan, a 185 fund, a city issued vehicle and gas card, a city issued cell phone and access to health and fitness facilities.
Read related: Whistleblower Hialeah cop gets stripped down at mayoral swearing-in
To ensure transparency and keep the candidates engaged throughout the day, each applicant will answer one question at a time, Colina explained. So, there’s gonna be un entra y sale big time.
Ladra hopes they wear comfortable shoes.
Bovo said he hopes to make a decision by the end of the month.
“Police officers are the crown jewels of the City of Hialeah,” he said in a video posted on social media. “I will make sure the police department is led by a good chief who works and respects our community and our Hialeah officers.”
That’s an indirecta dig at former Chief Sergio Velazquez, who Bovo fired almost immediately after swearing-in as mayor and who was very unpopular with the residents as well as the rank and file. Velasquez, who was a patrol officer with former Mayor Carlos “Rockhead” Hernandez and helped him politically before the latter made him the chief, was pretty much known to owe his career to his political allies. And they are gone.
The new police chief, whoever he is, can just throw away those shoes. And he’ll have some help. The Jorge Colina Group is also producing an assessment of the department’s policies, procedures and processes in an effort to improve efficiency, performance and, well, everything.
“Everything,” Colina said.
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