08-25-2007, 01:58 AM
BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ
mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com
Reacting to the city police union's allegations that his department has whitewashed crime statistics, Miami Police Chief John Timoney on Friday called for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the city's record-keeping.
The police union called a news conference Friday to accuse Timoney's administration of systematically downgrading the severity of crimes in its record-keeping, but offered little proof of the coordinated, departmentwide effort that union officials described.
Armando Aguilar, president of the union, said he has received phone calls from more than 100 officers who are uncomfortable with how Miami is recording its crime stats, but declined to share much of their information with reporters. Aguilar said some cops are afraid to tell even the union what they know.
''They're all in extreme fear,'' he said. ''This is a very vindictive administration.'' He predicted an FDLE review would encourage more officers to come forward.
Timoney, who insists Miami has been honest about its crime figures, wants the FDLE to come in to prove the city has nothing to hide.
''In an abundance of caution,'' Timoney wrote in a letter to the FDLE Friday, ``and to deal with any public misperception regarding this matter, I am requesting the assistance of your office in conducting an audit of our crime reporting system.''
FDLE spokeswoman Paige Patterson-Hughes confirmed Friday that the agency had received Timoney's request and will work with Miami ``to determine the next step.''
SUV CONTROVERSY
Timoney has found himself at the center of controversy this week after Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4 reported that the chief enjoyed free use of a hybrid Lexus SUV for more than a year.
The Lexus issue prompted two of Miami's five city commissioners, Tomás Regalado and Marc Sarnoff, on Thursday to call for the chief's resignation. Timoney says he won't step down. On Friday, commissioners Joe Sanchez and Angel Gonzalez declined to comment. Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones could not be reached for comment.
Sarnoff announced at a Thursday town hall meeting he would support Timoney keeping his job if the chief apologizes in writing to his co-workers and the public, donates the value of his Lexus use to charity and accepts a two-week unpaid suspension.
Timoney has not agreed to those conditions.
Timoney said he was not the only customer that Lexus of Kendall granted complimentary use of a SUV -- he was one of 15. Nevertheless, the chief called his decision to accept that offer ''boneheaded'' and ``stupid.''
Miami's police union -- bothered by Timoney's Lexus use as well as his overall leadership style -- took the rare step this week of scheduling a Sept. 4 vote on whether to declare ''no confidence'' in the chief and Deputy Chief Frank Fernandez.
The union followed that up with a Friday news conference to air its accusation that Miami's police department has routinely reclassified crimes such as burglary into less-serious categories. The result, according to the union: politically popular, but flawed, crime figures that make the city seem safer than it is.
The department's recent official crime stats offer a mixed picture. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of reported murders, rapes and burglaries increased throughout the city. Murders climbed from 54 to 77 rapes rose from 112 to 133.
But lesser crimes -- aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and car theft, stolen cars -- dropped dramatically. Reports of burglary fell more than 17 percent larcenies dropped 14 percent.
NO DOCUMENTATION
Aguilar said he performed a random sample of some of the city's crime reports and concluded a sizable portion were suspect. Aguilar declined, however, to provide copies of those reports to The Miami Herald.
Timoney dismissed the union's accusation, saying he has made it clear to officers that ``I don't care about crime going up or down.
''What I care is that you're actually working on it,'' Timoney said. ``If you're working hard, the crime will take care of itself.''
Timoney also challenged the accuracy of the initial CBS 4 report on the Lexus SUV. The TV station reported that Timoney, through a spokesman, at first said he had been paying for the use of the SUV all along.
''Absolutely not,'' Timoney said. ``I never made that assertion.''
Timoney said he was up front about the Lexus arrangement, and that the police spokesman's words were ''twisted'' by the station.
Responded station spokesman Lee Zimmerman: ``CBS 4 sticks by its story.''
mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com
Reacting to the city police union's allegations that his department has whitewashed crime statistics, Miami Police Chief John Timoney on Friday called for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the city's record-keeping.
The police union called a news conference Friday to accuse Timoney's administration of systematically downgrading the severity of crimes in its record-keeping, but offered little proof of the coordinated, departmentwide effort that union officials described.
Armando Aguilar, president of the union, said he has received phone calls from more than 100 officers who are uncomfortable with how Miami is recording its crime stats, but declined to share much of their information with reporters. Aguilar said some cops are afraid to tell even the union what they know.
''They're all in extreme fear,'' he said. ''This is a very vindictive administration.'' He predicted an FDLE review would encourage more officers to come forward.
Timoney, who insists Miami has been honest about its crime figures, wants the FDLE to come in to prove the city has nothing to hide.
''In an abundance of caution,'' Timoney wrote in a letter to the FDLE Friday, ``and to deal with any public misperception regarding this matter, I am requesting the assistance of your office in conducting an audit of our crime reporting system.''
FDLE spokeswoman Paige Patterson-Hughes confirmed Friday that the agency had received Timoney's request and will work with Miami ``to determine the next step.''
SUV CONTROVERSY
Timoney has found himself at the center of controversy this week after Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4 reported that the chief enjoyed free use of a hybrid Lexus SUV for more than a year.
The Lexus issue prompted two of Miami's five city commissioners, Tomás Regalado and Marc Sarnoff, on Thursday to call for the chief's resignation. Timoney says he won't step down. On Friday, commissioners Joe Sanchez and Angel Gonzalez declined to comment. Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones could not be reached for comment.
Sarnoff announced at a Thursday town hall meeting he would support Timoney keeping his job if the chief apologizes in writing to his co-workers and the public, donates the value of his Lexus use to charity and accepts a two-week unpaid suspension.
Timoney has not agreed to those conditions.
Timoney said he was not the only customer that Lexus of Kendall granted complimentary use of a SUV -- he was one of 15. Nevertheless, the chief called his decision to accept that offer ''boneheaded'' and ``stupid.''
Miami's police union -- bothered by Timoney's Lexus use as well as his overall leadership style -- took the rare step this week of scheduling a Sept. 4 vote on whether to declare ''no confidence'' in the chief and Deputy Chief Frank Fernandez.
The union followed that up with a Friday news conference to air its accusation that Miami's police department has routinely reclassified crimes such as burglary into less-serious categories. The result, according to the union: politically popular, but flawed, crime figures that make the city seem safer than it is.
The department's recent official crime stats offer a mixed picture. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of reported murders, rapes and burglaries increased throughout the city. Murders climbed from 54 to 77 rapes rose from 112 to 133.
But lesser crimes -- aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and car theft, stolen cars -- dropped dramatically. Reports of burglary fell more than 17 percent larcenies dropped 14 percent.
NO DOCUMENTATION
Aguilar said he performed a random sample of some of the city's crime reports and concluded a sizable portion were suspect. Aguilar declined, however, to provide copies of those reports to The Miami Herald.
Timoney dismissed the union's accusation, saying he has made it clear to officers that ``I don't care about crime going up or down.
''What I care is that you're actually working on it,'' Timoney said. ``If you're working hard, the crime will take care of itself.''
Timoney also challenged the accuracy of the initial CBS 4 report on the Lexus SUV. The TV station reported that Timoney, through a spokesman, at first said he had been paying for the use of the SUV all along.
''Absolutely not,'' Timoney said. ``I never made that assertion.''
Timoney said he was up front about the Lexus arrangement, and that the police spokesman's words were ''twisted'' by the station.
Responded station spokesman Lee Zimmerman: ``CBS 4 sticks by its story.''