08-30-2007, 12:56 AM
Timoney's free use of car spurs a controversy
By Curt Anderson
Associated Press
John F. Timoney , Miami's police chief, said he'd broken no laws.
AP
John F. Timoney , Miami's police chief, said he'd broken no laws.
MIAMI - Police Chief John F. Timoney, who has headed the police department here since 2003, finds himself in the middle of a controversy since news broke this week that, for more than a year, he had free use of a Lexus SUV from a Florida car dealer.
Yesterday, Timoney insisted that he had broken no laws by using a Lexus RX Hybrid for free, but acknowledged that the situation raised ethical questions and said that on Wednesday he bought the vehicle for the full sticker price of $54,000.
Meanwhile, the Miami local of the Fraternal Order of Police has scheduled an unusual no-confidence vote for Sept. 4 in an effort to oust Timoney, who was popular in Philadelphia during his tenure as police commissioner.
Union treasurer William Scarola said rank-and-file officers would never be permitted to accept something of value for free.
We would definitely be disciplined, possibly all the way up to termination, Scarola said. It's clear you can't take any kind of gratuities from anybody. Not even a cup of coffee.
Timoney said he would formally ask the city manager - to whom he reports - and the city's ethics board to determine if he did anything wrong.
It's clear to me now, in retrospect, that I kept that vehicle too long, the chief said at a news conference. There's a perception that has been created that somehow I got something for nothing.
The controversy arose after WFOR-TV reported on Monday on the chief's free use of the Lexus.
It was not clear whether Timoney violated any laws or regulations when the dealership, Lexus of Kendall, gave him the demonstration SUV to test-drive more than a year ago. Timoney said he was already leasing another car from the dealership when he got the SUV, and the combined mileage of the two vehicles was below the lease's limits.
The department's policies prohibit an employee from accepting fees, rewards or gifts for any services rendered. Timoney said he provided no services to the dealership, which is in the suburb of Kendall, Fla., and does not do business with the city.
But if the vehicle is determined to be a gift, Timoney would be required to report it as such on an ethics disclosure form.
Timoney said he would not resign but would defer to City Manager Pete Hernandez and Mayor Manny Diaz.
They will determine my future. We'll see what that is, Timoney said.
Hernandez did not immediately return a telephone call yesterday seeking comment. Managers at Lexus of Kendall also did not return a call seeking comment.
The chief also said issues other than the SUV were involved in the union decision to hold a no-confidence vote, which he labeled as politically motivated.
Scarola acknowledged that the SUV was a catalyst among officers who have chafed under rules they perceive as limiting their discretion and treating them as guilty until proven innocent in disciplinary matters.
Timoney, who also held a leading police post in New York City, arrived in Miami in 2003. At the time, the Miami Police Department had been rocked by violence and scandal, including the federal indictment of 13 officers for fabricating evidence and planting guns at shooting scenes.
Timoney is generally credited with improving the department, such as a sharp reduction in use of deadly force by officers.
The chief has also drawn his share of criticism, including what some observers viewed as heavy-handed tactics used on hundreds of protesters during a Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting in late 2003.
I would match what we've done at the Miami Police Department with any police force in the nation, Timoney said.
By Curt Anderson
Associated Press
John F. Timoney , Miami's police chief, said he'd broken no laws.
AP
John F. Timoney , Miami's police chief, said he'd broken no laws.
MIAMI - Police Chief John F. Timoney, who has headed the police department here since 2003, finds himself in the middle of a controversy since news broke this week that, for more than a year, he had free use of a Lexus SUV from a Florida car dealer.
Yesterday, Timoney insisted that he had broken no laws by using a Lexus RX Hybrid for free, but acknowledged that the situation raised ethical questions and said that on Wednesday he bought the vehicle for the full sticker price of $54,000.
Meanwhile, the Miami local of the Fraternal Order of Police has scheduled an unusual no-confidence vote for Sept. 4 in an effort to oust Timoney, who was popular in Philadelphia during his tenure as police commissioner.
Union treasurer William Scarola said rank-and-file officers would never be permitted to accept something of value for free.
We would definitely be disciplined, possibly all the way up to termination, Scarola said. It's clear you can't take any kind of gratuities from anybody. Not even a cup of coffee.
Timoney said he would formally ask the city manager - to whom he reports - and the city's ethics board to determine if he did anything wrong.
It's clear to me now, in retrospect, that I kept that vehicle too long, the chief said at a news conference. There's a perception that has been created that somehow I got something for nothing.
The controversy arose after WFOR-TV reported on Monday on the chief's free use of the Lexus.
It was not clear whether Timoney violated any laws or regulations when the dealership, Lexus of Kendall, gave him the demonstration SUV to test-drive more than a year ago. Timoney said he was already leasing another car from the dealership when he got the SUV, and the combined mileage of the two vehicles was below the lease's limits.
The department's policies prohibit an employee from accepting fees, rewards or gifts for any services rendered. Timoney said he provided no services to the dealership, which is in the suburb of Kendall, Fla., and does not do business with the city.
But if the vehicle is determined to be a gift, Timoney would be required to report it as such on an ethics disclosure form.
Timoney said he would not resign but would defer to City Manager Pete Hernandez and Mayor Manny Diaz.
They will determine my future. We'll see what that is, Timoney said.
Hernandez did not immediately return a telephone call yesterday seeking comment. Managers at Lexus of Kendall also did not return a call seeking comment.
The chief also said issues other than the SUV were involved in the union decision to hold a no-confidence vote, which he labeled as politically motivated.
Scarola acknowledged that the SUV was a catalyst among officers who have chafed under rules they perceive as limiting their discretion and treating them as guilty until proven innocent in disciplinary matters.
Timoney, who also held a leading police post in New York City, arrived in Miami in 2003. At the time, the Miami Police Department had been rocked by violence and scandal, including the federal indictment of 13 officers for fabricating evidence and planting guns at shooting scenes.
Timoney is generally credited with improving the department, such as a sharp reduction in use of deadly force by officers.
The chief has also drawn his share of criticism, including what some observers viewed as heavy-handed tactics used on hundreds of protesters during a Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting in late 2003.
I would match what we've done at the Miami Police Department with any police force in the nation, Timoney said.