Judge says former Miami police chief’s whistleblower lawsuit can move forward
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A lawsuit filed in federal court more than two years ago by former Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo against the city of Miami; Commissioners Joe Carollo, Manolo Reyes and Alex Díaz de la Portilla; and City Manager Art Noriega can officially move forward.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams denied a motion to dismiss the complaint that was filed in January 2022 by Acevedo, who was fired by city commissioners in 2021. Williams further ruled that Carollo, Reyes, Díaz de la Portilla and Noriega are not entitled to qualified or legislative immunity, doctrines that generally protect public officials from being sued for actions that occurred within the scope of their legislative duties.
Williams has not issued a written order on the matter yet but said she anticipates doing so in the coming days.
In his civil complaint, Acevedo accused the parties of violating his First Amendment rights and illegally retaliating against him for “speaking out against corruption and abuse of power by the City of Miami Commission.” He has alleged that his firing was retribution for trying to maintain his independence as police chief.
Acevedo alleged that he had attempted to promote officers who were committed to reform and that he had also tried to investigate officer misconduct “and to push back on attempts by certain City of Miami Commissioners to use the men, women, and resources of the MPD to carry out their personal agendas and use the MPD as their puppet.”
He further alleged that Carollo, Díaz de la Portilla and Reyes “targeted” him “because of his resistance to their efforts to use the MPD to carry out their personal agendas and vendettas.” The defendants had previously denied Acevedo’s allegations.
In response to Williams’ ruling, Thomas Ronzetti, an attorney for Díaz de la Portilla, said Acevedo “was fired for a host of reasons presented in an open commission hearing where he didn’t put on a single witness or testify on his own behalf.”
“Even if his complaint manages to survive this stage, his claims are meritless and won’t ultimately prevail. We are awaiting the court’s written ruling and will decide our course of action following that,” Ronzetti added.
Díaz de la Portilla was suspended from office in September following his arrest on corruption charges. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
A spokeswoman for the city told the Miami Herald: “We are awaiting the official written order from Judge Kathleen Williams. Once received, we will assess our next course of action in consultation with the City Attorney’s Office.”
Reyes’ attorney Jose Quiñon said his team will need to analyze the judge’s written order. “Thereafter, we’ll decide the next steps, which may include an appeal of the qualified and legislative immunity issues,” Quiñon said.
Attorneys for Carollo, Noriega and Acevedo did not immediately respond to the Herald’s request for comment.
Acevedo’s complaint details several examples of alleged illegal and unethical activity by commissioners, saying they attempted to “weaponize” Miami police officers against their enemies, including:
Using police and code enforcement officers to target businesses owned by Bill Fuller, who co-owns the Ball & Chain nightclub in Little Havana and who has feuded with Carollo for years.
Interfering in a police internal investigation into a popular sergeant-at-arms who served as a member of Mayor Francis Suarez’s security detail.
Ordering Acevedo to arrest so-called “communist” agitators at city events. The suit says they were peaceful protesters.
