‘He is not accountable to anyone’: Former Houston Police Chief Acevedo fired from Miami Police Department

Art Acevedo has been suspended from his role as Miami police chief with the intent of termination, according to an Oct. 11 report by The Associated Press (AP). 

This comes six months into Acevedo’s tenure, following criticism from city commissioners he alleged had meddled in police department and internal affairs investigations.

“The relationship between the chief and the organization has become untenable and needed to be resolved promptly. Chief Acevedo is not the right fit for this organization,” Miami City Manager Art Noriega told AP.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the former chief took to shaking up the Miami Police Department upon his departure as a top officer in the Houston Police Department, not long after he was sworn into office in April. During that time he made significant changes to the command staff, firing two high-level officials who had lied about a crash involving a city-issued SUV, AP states. 

“In general, police chiefs across the country fare better in the challenges of their job if they can keep politics out of their job," Charles McClelland, Acevedo’s Houston predecessor told the Houston Chronicle. "In my experience, I've found it to be that member of communities don't like their police chiefs to be politicians or media celebrities."

Since then, Acevedo has been the subject of debate at two heated meetings within the past month as commissioners appointed themselves to an investigative committee with subpoena power to examine his appointment as chief of police. 

"(Acevedo) feels he can do whatever he pleases," the Houston Chronicle reports City Commissioner Joe Carollo said in a meeting. "He is not accountable to anyone. Not accountable to the city manager or to the residents of the City of Miami. Period."

The department’s decision to terminate Acevedo from his role ends this tumultuous period between the parties, AP reports. 

Throughout his time as chief, Acevedo created rifts in his actions. According to AP, alongside the complaints from commissioners came reports that the now-former chief had talked to officers about a “Cuban mafia”—a term used by Fidel Castro to refer to exiles.

Assistant Police Chief Manny Morales will take over the role of interim chief as the department looks to find who will fill Acevedo’s shoes, AP reports.