Embattled Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito says his public spat with Mayor Tomas Regalado has him fighting for his job.
Appearing before the city commission Friday at a city hall hearing that could determine his fate, the city's top cop said he was suspended by City Manager Johnny Martinez earlier this week for doing his job.
"I have reason to believe that I have been unfairly targeted by the office of the mayor for doing the right thing," Exposito said. "We have a mayor who's hell-bent on firing me and the manager has succumbed to that pressure from the mayor."
Martinez suspended Exposito Tuesday, after months of bickering between Exposito and Regalado over the chief's handling of the department.
The meeting continued deep into the evening as officials began bickering about who represented whom and budget numbers.
In a memo sent from Martinez to Exposito, the city manager gave two reasons for suspending Exposito, including his taking the responsibilities from three police commanders without consulting Martinez and the chief's failure to reduce overtime expenses.
At Friday's hearing, Martinez said the chief has "a lack of respect for the office of the city manager."
"His actions constitute insubordination in a manner meant to undermine my authority," Martinez said. "He lacks judgment, leadership and the ability to follow directives."
During a two-hour recess in the afternoon, Martinez enlisted the help of outside legal counsel to put on the case against Exposito. That infused a level of confusion into the quasi-judicial hearing and commissioners spent about an hour determining if it was even legal for Martinez to be represented by an attorney.
After another 80-minute break, commissioners continued to discuss the fate of Exposito.
As of 8 p.m., commissioners were still discussing the issue.
Commissioners are expected to vote on whether to uphold or reverse Martinez's suspension of the chief at the conclusion of the hearing. If three of the five agree with Martinez, Exposito is out as Miami's top cop. If three disagree, Exposito will be reinstated.
Not all of the commissioners were completely ready to make a decision Friday.
The hearing began with Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, who was just sworn back in to her seat Thursday, expressing her concerns that she wasn't prepared to address the issue after being suspended for nearly two years while she faced corruption charges.
Citing the city's pressing budget issues, Commissioner Frank Carollo said he didn't agree with the timing of Martinez's suspension.
"As far as the timing...I have stated that the timing was horrible," Carollo said. "I believe it's the wrong time, absolutely."
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About 50 people sat in the audience at the hearing, including Regalado and the three officers Exposito is accused of stripping of responsibilities, Assistant Chief Roy Brown, Commander Jose Perez and Commander Ricardo Roque.
Exposito became chief in November 2009 after joining the Miami Police Department in 1974. He quickly fell out of favor with Regalado when he began to crack down on the city's gaming machines, after he claimed Regalado was interfering with the investigation.
After a rash of police involved shootings in Miami in which several black men were shot, Exposito clashed with city commissioners, including former Commissioner Richard Dunn, who called for the chief to step down.
The chief refused to step down, and it was later announced that the U.S. Department of Justice would investigate the shootings. The department has been cleared of wrongdoing in most of the shootings.
In June, Exposito claimed he was offered $400,000 to leave his post by a "high-ranking city official." Days later, the chief's job was posted on the Miamigov.com website.
NBC Miami later obtained a $200,000 check issued by the City of Miami to Exposito.
In July, Martinez ordered the chief to limit his communications with the media, only allowing him to talk to reporters about public safety or police situations.
Late last week, Exposito sent a letter to Martinez demanding whistleblower protection, claiming he had been 'unfairly targeted' by Regalado since December 2010.
Martinez appointed Maj. Manuel Orosa, a 31-year veteran of the department, as interim chief.
