Former Miami Gardens police major sues for $2M claiming wrongful termination

A former Miami Gardens Police Department major is suing the city and the department alleging wrongful termination after she voiced concerns about improper training and Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt’s conduct, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month.

Robin Starks, 57, is seeking $2 million in damages, including back pay, and asserts that her First Amendment rights were violated when she was retaliated against for criticizing the department. Starks was fired June 28, after 33 years in law enforcement. She previously worked at the city of Miami and Miami Dade College as chief of public safety for the Kendall Campus.

The city of Miami Gardens does not respond to pending litigation, a spokeswoman told the Herald. The lawsuit was filed Sept. 11.

Starks was called into a meeting with the police chief, but was instead asked to sign a resignation letter — which she did — but emailed the department to rescind her resignation that evening, her attorney, Michael Pizzi, said.

“The chief never told her she was doing anything wrong, and then she got blindsided by this,” Pizzi said. “The only explanation that could possibly be is because she was blowing the whistle and she was critical of the chief.”

Starks began her law enforcement career at Miami Police Department working her way through the ranks to field operations and patrol sergeant before retiring in 2015. Shortly after, she served as chief of public safety for the Miami-Dade College Kendall Campus. She joined the Miami Gardens police department in 2017 as major of operations. She now owns a consulting business focused on law enforcement, public safety tips, business development, branding and marking and public speaking, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Early this year, she was one of five finalists for Riviera Beach police chief, but ultimately lost out on the job to Michael Coleman, a 20-year veteran with Delray Beach police.

According to her personnel file, Starks had a stellar record receiving praise for her work with Miami police dating back to the early 1990s. During her time at Miami Gardens, Starks also received high marks on her performance evaluations, with one remarking Starks “gets things done.”

Her Miami Gardens file did not include a termination letter or notice. However, police staff were notified that Starks was no longer employed with the department. “Effective immediately, the individual listed below is no longer employed with the City of Miami Gardens Police Department,” read an email sent to staff. The email also included Starks’ name and her department photo. A screenshot of the email was shared by Pizzi with the Miami Herald.

Pizzi said no specific reasoning was given for his client’s firing.

Lawsuit details

Starks’ lawsuit alleges improper disciplinary actions against officers were imposed by Noel-Pratt, and Starks refused to sign off on many of the disciplinary actions because they were “too excessive based on the incident.”

In one example, two officers were allegedly written up for an accident they were unaware happened, according to the lawsuit. At the time, they were pursuing a vehicle not related to the accident. Another example notes an officer being punished twice for an incident.

The lawsuit also listed instances of “unethical activities” within the department dating to 2020, including a now retired police captain falsifying documents and reports without disciplinary action. The lawsuit also alleges an officer allowed his lover to use his personal vehicle to get his gun and give it to a sergeant at a crime scene. In a third allegation, the lawsuit describes the appointment of a commander to Internal Affairs after they had been found to be in violation of department policy for helping an officer cheat during the hiring process.

More recently, during a May 17 meeting, Noel-Pratt held a meeting with command staff that included Starks and stated that someone in the room was undermining her and “setting themselves up with certain people,” according to the lawsuit. It did not elaborate on who those people were. She allegedly asked several times “if anyone in the room could run the police department better than her,” the lawsuit continues.

First amendment rights

The lawsuit also claims Noel-Pratt was increasingly concerned about Starks voicing her concerns and made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate Starks’ criticisms of her, the department, training or going to political events on her own time.

Before her termination, Starks was involved in an investigation into an April 9 car accident, in which a woman suffered a broken left arm, the suit says.

According to the lawsuit, Starks was assigned to conduct an investigation into the crash after the owner of the vehicle, Sonia Frazier, complained she never received an unredacted report of the crash involving her daughter and suggested there may be a “cover up.” Frazier, owner of Garden Soul Food in Miami.

During her inquiry, Starks found that the officer and a field training officer did not follow proper procedures throughout the crash investigation, according to the lawsuit. Starks’ investigation revealed there were improper delays in providing information to Frazier’s family and that body camera video was not properly disclosed.

On June 22, Frazier told Starks after repeated attempts to get the video she hadn’t received it. The information was passed along to the deputy police chief. Six days later, Starks was asked to sign the resignation letter, Pizzi said.

She was ultimately fired, he said.