Miami Police Chief To Retire Next Year

MIAMI, FL — When he took over as police chief in January of 2018, Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina was touted by Mayor Francis Suarez as the right candidate for a complex city.

"We have an incredibly complex city," Suarez told Patch at the time. "My expectations are that he can navigate first and foremost the drug-fueled violence that we're seeing in our city."

Complex turned out to be an understatement of what the next few years would hold for Colina, not the least of which included the global coronavirus pandemic and a personal bout with the virus. This year also brought a summer of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

On Thursday, Colina announced he will retire on Jan. 31 after three years as the city's top cop.

"I feel a great sense of satisfaction that we’ve been able to achieve the goals that we set," Colina said in a video. "It really satisfies me because those goals have been met by the hard work of the men and women of this police department and by your support."

Colina was among the first police chiefs in the nation to speak out against the events in Minneapolis that led to the death of Floyd. The Miami chief warned his officers in a video to learn from the Floyd case and make sure they "respect life" above everything else.

But he came under scrutiny by the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, which accused him of using a racial slur during a training exercise more than two decades ago and fostering a culture of misconduct.

Sgt. Stanley Jean-Poix, president of the nation's second-oldest African-American police officer organization, called for Colina's firing at a news conference back in June.

"In 1997, I was an undercover police officer as shocking as that may sound, and I was teaching a class," Colina responded at the time. "I started the class by saying that I was going to be using language that could be very offensive. And that was the point."

Colina told reporters Thursday he might take another job after he leaves his position as top cop.

"I’m considering a couple of options that I have," he said. "There’s things that I’m mulling over."

He will leave after presiding over two of the lowest crime rates in the history of the Miami Police Department.

"I wanted to give the manager and the mayor enough time to be able to find my replacement without being rushed and without it being chaotic," he said. "That’s why I thought it was important to make this announcement now. "

Colina didn't say what his future opportunities might hold, but he hinted they may be different from his current position as head of one of the largest metropolitan police departments in the country.

"I don’t see a scenario right now, honestly, where I would go to another department," he said.