'He is not accountable to anyone': Miami Chief of police, former Houston cop under investigation by city commission

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña recently shared his thoughts on the fiasco involving the current Miami Chief of Police Art Acevedo, a former Houston policeman, and leaders in the South Florida city.

"It’s rough to work in an environment where mudslinging and character assassination has replaced rational discussions of differences on complex issues," Chief Peña wrote in a Sept. 29 Twitter post. "I hope that at some point, the validation for effort will begin to resonate @ArtAcevedo."

The Miami New Times recently reported that Acevedo, who took the Miami job earlier this year, ruffled feathers with a joke about Miami police being run by the "Cuban Mafia." Acevedo has since made a public apology for his remark.

"While the statement was made to be humorous," Acevedo said, according to a Sept. 9 post by Miami PD. "I have since learned that it is highly offensive to the exile Cuban community, of which I am a proud member. I want to thank City of Miami Commissioners for kindly informing me this morning that historically, the Castro regime referred to the exile community in Miami as 'the Cuban Mafia.'"

The gaffe was offensive to the point that the Miami City Commission held a special session on Sept. 27 to chastise Acevedo, who is purportedly feuding with commissioners Joe Carollo, Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Manolo Reyes, three Cuban-Americans collectively known as The Three Amigos.

"[Acevedo] feels he can do whatever he pleases," Carollo said, according to New Times. "He is not accountable to anyone. Not accountable to the city manager or to the residents of the City of Miami. Period."

Before the session, Acevedo delivered a memo to City Manager Art Noriega and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez accusing the Three Amigos of misconduct and interfering with his efforts to reform the department, New Times reported.

The Miami City Commission discussed defunding Acevedo's position at the special session, according to New Times. His current annual salary with the City of Miami is $315,000 with approximately $122,500 in additional benefits. Commissioners ultimately voted unanimously to have investigators look into Acevedo's allegations of corruption in the department and into Acevedo himself.

Upon his arrival in South Beach, Acevedo took to shaking up the MPD, with many questioning his actions, according to Houston Chronicle.

Acevedo made a string of controversial firings throughout the department and also told a radio station that officers should be vaccinated or risk losing their jobs.