With Miami-Dade police cadets facing layoffs, a top administrator urges: ‘Fight for them!’
By Douglas Hanks, The Miami Herald | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
With layoffs looming at the county's police agency, the class of 47 recruits sworn in as officers this week are officially on the chopping block. Mayor
The cadets' iffy employment prospects became a centerpiece of their swearing-in ceremony Thursday when the department's No. 2 official delivered a fiery speech against the planned cuts and urging the audience to "fight for them."
Praising the cadets' for enduring a 36-week training program that cost the county about
"This same tenacity is what we need out there --outside these walls -- telling the community, the commissioners, the mayor, whoever is listening, that we need them,'' Perez shouted from the podium, according to a video of the event. "Be loud! be vocal!"
The speech created a media stir Friday following a report in
"The mayor is out there trying to work options so that there are no police officers losing their jobs,'' said
Rivera was not immediately available for comment, but in public statements he has warned the mayor's budget threatened public safety and that criminals "should be sending a little gift card to
Last month, county commissioners endorsed keeping the county's main property taxes flat, a key driver in the revenue shortfall facing police, corrections, transit and
Most of the police-officer cuts would come from investigators, and
"It's going to impact the frequency and rapidity with which we follow-up on crimes,'' said J.D. Patterson, the county's police director and Perez's boss. Asked if that meant more crimes would go unsolved, Patterson responded: "Obviously, if you have fewer people doing the jobs, yes."
As
"I find myself in the unfortunate situation of writing to you regarding the
Gimenez wants county unions to extend pay concessions that were adopted in 2011 but set to expire on
A day after his graduation speech, Perez cited the one tax increase commissioners did approve -- a rate boost for the county's library district -- as a motivation behind his impassioned remarks.
"I saw a passionate group of library supporters come before the commission,'' Perez said during a press conference called to address his Thursday remarks. "I saw them raise the [tax rate] for libraries. I said to myself, that is what we are missing... We need to do a better job getting the community to come out and support us."
Gimenez insists
Widely seen as Patterson's successor, Perez began his brief graduation remarks with a dramatic gesture. He pulled his badge off of his uniform and plunked it down on the lectern. "I am un-deputizing myself,'' he told the crowd of fellow police officers and civilians there for the ceremony at
His voice rising, Perez launched into a rousing call to action, though he never offered a path to avoiding layoffs. "Do not let them go! Let's hold on to them,'' he yelled. "Fight for them! As you would have them fight for you."
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