North Miami is in a bit of a pickle. On Tuesday, February 4, 2014, its Office of Communications issued a Press Release announcing the “amicable” resignation of Police Chief Marc Elias.
There’s only one problem. As Channel 7 reported this afternoon, Chief Elias has never issued his resignation. Although a “spokesperson for North Miami City Hall” claims that a verbal resignation is good enough, obviously it isn’t. As of today, no formal written resignation has been submitted.
If Chief Elias had officially resigned, an interim Chief would have been appointed, as the City’s Press Release noted. Instead, an “Acting Chief” was appointed since Elias was hospitalized on Monday.
Talk about a screw up!
Members of the community, as well as guests on Haitian radio and other sources, have conjectured that there is much more to this alleged resignation than meets the eye, and that Chief Elias was given the ultimatum of either resigning or being fired. It’s no secret that he has been under fire in the last year for several things, including an accusation that he assigned a Police Sergeant “full-time as a chauffeur/body guard/personal valet for Mayor Lucie Tondreau” in a complaint filed with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, and for charging the City an amount totaling $14,000.00 for seven trips to Haiti from April to November of last year.
The Ethics Commission opened a case based on the first complaint and investigated the matter. The report issued by the Commission included an interview with City Manager Stephen Johnson, during which he claimed that Mayor Tondreau expressed her concerns to him about a security threat, and that he authorized the police security that was given to her while on official business during the course of a two week period. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Commission cleared Chief Elias of all wrongdoing, stating, “Based upon the available evidence, there is no basis for filing an ethics complaint, this matter is closed without further action.”
As for his trips to Haiti, a Miami Herald article reported that “city documents show he took the trips to provide security for a vacationing North Miami Mayor Lucie Tondreau, to attend a swearing-in ceremony for Haiti’s national police chief and to attend an 18th anniversary celebration for Haiti’s police force.” The article also reported that “City Manager Stephen Johnson said this week only Elias’ most recent trip in August did not have the necessary documentation to warrant reimbursement by the city. As a result, Johnson invalidated his expenses.” Because of this disparity, Chief Elias agreed to reimburse the City for his expenses of approximately $3,000.00.
Here’s the thing. Even though Chief Marc Elias is the head of the North Miami Police Department, he doesn’t run the city. If anyone believes that he unilaterally made these decisions without approval from City Hall, I can definitely sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. At half price!
In the news biz, sensationalism sells. Print editors and television news producers love a scandal, and usually jump on one before the proverbial body is cold in order to be the first to break the news. They know full well that a dirty laundry-loving public drools at the chance to gloat over the misfortune of a public official rather than read fluff pieces about his good deeds. Like sex, a scandal sells newspapers.
Lost amid the mud slinging and finger pointing is the fact that under Chief Marc Elias’ watch since he was sworn in on November 28, 2011, the crime rate in North Miami was lowered to the 1979 levels. According to the 2012 Annual Report, City Manager Stephen Johnson praised Chief Elias’ for continuing to “utilize innovative strategies to reduce crime in our City to the lowest levels in decades.” Chief Elias also noted that in 2012 his Police Department “worked 2384 cases with a 40% clearance rate.” That is no mean feat.
If the reduction of crime is any indication of the quality of leadership in any Police Department, I’ll let this visual speak for itself:
Just saying.
In addition to researching actual published statistics, I have also discovered some of the Chief’s many accomplishments during his tenure so far. Chief Elias brought back the Cadet Program, applied for and received a million dollar grant for the Police Athletic League’s building, combined the Police and Code Enforcement Departments, which increased revenue for the city, redesigned the logo for the Police patches and cruisers in order to promote a more positive image, among other things. Another achievement worth noting is that the North Miami Police Department recently participated with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department in an active shooter drill at the North Miami Senior High School to help prepare for a worst-case scenario.
I have also interviewed many people in the community from all ethnic backgrounds who speak very highly of Marc Elias. They like and respect him tremendously, and they also believe he has done an excellent job as the Chief of Police. I have also personally met him and found him to be a warm and genuine person. As you know, I do not impress easily, but I can tell you that Chief Elias is a truly admirable human being.
Because of all the negative press Chief Marc Elias has received in the last few months, one is led to believe that he’s the devil incarnate. If that’s all you base your opinion on, I would understand how you came to that conclusion. However, anyone who cares to know the whole truth about his leadership and accomplishments as the Chief of the North Miami Police Department can easily do what I did, and discover that things are not always what they seem to be on the surface.
The fact that the same Administration who glowingly praised Marc Elias only last year, yet now seems so anxious to throw him under the bus, made me suspect that there was more to this story than was being initially reported. I’m not entirely convinced that there isn’t something more sinister afoot. I smell conspiracy.
In any event, whether or not Chief Elias decides to resign, I was compelled to write this story. If nothing else, I am a seeker of the truth. Based on what I have learned so far, I don’t buy for one minute that Marc Elias “agreed to an amicable conclusion to his service” as the North Miami Chief of Police. If he is unjustly being bullied into resigning, I would like nothing more than to see him fight back. No one despises a bully more than I do. (Just ask Myron.)
Of course, I have no idea what Chief Elias plans to do now. I would, however, like him to know that he has more support than he might realize. If he does decide to do whatever it takes to keep his job, that’s one can of whoop-ass I’d love to open!
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
Those of us who know Marc Elias, both professionally and personally for a very long time, are laughing at Ms. Kienzle’s gushing comments about him. I can assure you he always makes a friendly regular-guy impression, while using duck-and-dodge techniques to cover his misdeeds and feign innocence. He’s a master. We’ve all done favors for him and not one of us has gotten anything back from him. Shame on you Marc Elias. You’re real slick. We know what you’ve done in your past, so it’s no surprise you’re involved in more controversy. You deserve to go. Sorry buddy.
Gushing comments? Because I made a comment that someone I met is a nice person? You call that gushing? Sorry, sweetie, but if that’s the case, your notion of gushing is quite exaggerated. You obviously weren’t around the one time I’ve ever gushed over anyone in my life and that was the day I met Alan Jackson in person back in 1994. I was so freaking tongue tied, I forgot my own name.
http://youtu.be/-aNjYlgwBN0
In all seriousness, I’m not privy to your interactions with or your opinion of Chief Elias, but they sound like personal issues to me which are not my problem. They’re yours. And what you think of me or anyone else is none of my business.
I do not have a personal or professional relationship with your Chief. As such, I prefer to base my conclusions on facts. A reduction in crime rates to a 30 plus year low is just one such fact that cannot be ignored. I’d literally pay to see those kind of stats in North Miami Beach. Coming from an NMB resident who just had a shooting only yards away from our police department and blocks away from my own home, I don’t take crime – or crime prevention – lightly.
Even IF Marc Elias didn’t do anything else productive during his short tenure as your Police Chief, that fact alone speaks for itself. It speaks volumes where it really matters.
Now you’ve made me laugh out loud – Sweetie? Really?
As far as my opinion of you, I didn’t have one before, but now I think you’re adorable – I happen to like Alan Jackson too.
Of course my issues are *personal*. As a resident I have *personally* experienced issues with Marc Elias that have *personally* affected me (and others), that are not so chiefly. I didn’t write an article – I wrote a comment, which is usually *personal*.
As far as stats go, I’ve never believed them because it’s too easy to underreport and over exaggerate and play with numbers and reports and categorization. I take them with a grain of salt.
As residents we seriously would like to know more if this is serious. I am confused as you sounded like a colleague at first with the “favors you have all done,” but now you are a resident so now the kind of favors (and personal issues that affect you) are even more confusing. We are here to be enlightened and want to know.
Does anyone have the 2013 crime statistics. I’m interested to see if they are lower than 2012?
The FBI doesn’t have the 2013 stats on its website yet. On the FDLE website, the stats for the first half of 2013 are posted.
North Miami:
Murder 3
Forcible Rape 17
Robbery 119
Aggravated Assault 126
Burlary 310
Larceny 937
Motor Vehicle Theft 133
Total Crime Index: 1,645
% Change 2012/2013: -1.6
You can find those stats here: http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/FSAC/Data—Statistics-%281%29/UCR-Offense-Data/UCR-Offense-Data.aspx
If you have something to enlighten us on, do it. Please. When you say that favors are not being paid back… GOOD! I EXPECT a police force to be run on merit and with safety being the only concerns. The fact you say he does not pay back favors would be positive. Lesson of the day: don’t do anything expecting anything in return, do them because they are the right thing. It always sounds bitter otherwise and it would be concerning a police force would ever be run on “favors”, if in fact you are referring to that and not holiday gifts or something less important to our safety. Maybe I don’t know how things are done. In regards to his past, if there is something we should know that affects us, tell us.
Stephanie, you have great instincts. If something smells fishy to you keep digging. It may be that the above poster gave you some unintentional information on your quest for truth. Or maybe the city smells so much it will be hard to get to the truth. Thanks for doing your part.
Perhaps using the word “favors” was misleading. Nothing having to do with running the City of North Miami – mostly having to do with boosting his image. That’s all I’ll say on that.
I hear what you say but I still think there is a little bitterness. I have learned over the years to NEVER do anything expecting anything in return. Either you believe in what you are doing and the person you are doing it for then do it for the reasons you believe in it, or don’t do it. Now if someone makes a promise to you directly and lies about it that is another case. But doing something to boost someone’s image, well, still sounds like you should only do that if you believe in them, not because you expect a favor your way sometime. Anyhow its hard to comment more as we really don’t know what is being talked about.
Not to mention the life size cardboard cutout of himself standing behind him. Hilarious!
I have been a resident of North Miami for over 20 yrs. I’ve seen police chiefs come and go. Of all the police chiefs that North Miami has had, Chief Marc Elias has brought the best results. Just look at the crime statistics and police budget since he’s been in office as chief. “Amicable Conclusion”???? I don’t think so. It seems to me that the chief is being pushed out. From what I hear, Mayor Tondreau is using the chief as a scapegoat to prove that she will not put up with any negative publicity within the police department while she is in office, using the city manager to get him fired. She wants the chief gone to bring in a white American chief and boost her votes amongst the growing population of whites and Hispanics in North Miami. Although I understand the tactic, it’s shows the lack of experience as a politician on her part. She will learn the hard way. Crime has been down in North Miami under the watch of Chief Marc Elias. Not just down, but lower than its ever been since 1979, and consistently lower each year after 2011. Even with an obviously higher population than in 1979. What about the police budget? He has consistently saved the city approximately half a million dollars each year. Need to check this information, just check the city of North Miami’s website, its there for everyone to see. The Haiti trips, although questionable, have already been addressed by the city manager. If that’s the reason to push the chief out, why not do it then? Why now? Why would the chief even consider resigning if he’s on a roll? Makes no sense. I hope the mayor and city manager realize their mistake and welcome the chief after he recovers, unless of course they want the crime rate to rise once again. Good luck to Mayor Tondreau getting reelected again after this tactic.
I’m reading all of the comments above and I really don’t know where to begin. Stephanie, your impression of Chief Elias is understandable. When you have brief interactions with someone it can be easy to have a good impression. He is friendly, engaging and his appearance is somewhat cherubic . But, how many times have you heard of people who were responsible for heinous crimes described by neighbors or friends and you repeatedly hear “He seemed like a nice guy , he was always friendly”? Jeffrey Dahmer had parents who loved him and the BTK killer attended church regularly. These are extreme examples yes, I’m not trying to be cheeky I’m trying to make a point. There is much to know about a man in order to know his true character.
In the case of Chief Elias there are details that a civilian may not be familiar with which are factors in determining the qualifications of a chief of police. They run the gamut from training, prior experience in a variety of units within an agency, knowledge of police budgets, high liability issues and interdepartmental as well as human resources legal matters. I would have to type extensively in order to provide you with an explanation of his shortcomings and lack of leadership ability. Chief Elias did not meet any of the necessary requirements to attain a chief position in a reputable professionally run agency. To a person outside the scope of police work his resume is chock full of awards and cites things that are “fluff” but of no substance. Chief Elias has been investigated by the Miami Dade Police Department for assault and he has been accused of sexual harassment by an employee; an allegation that resulted in his dismissal from the Florida City Police Department. This begs the question of “Why was he was hired if there is larger pool of candidates to choose from?” The answer is simple; a certain city official wanted a Haitian police chief. Gary Eugene from the City of Miami was initially considered but once they became involved in talks, Eugene declined the position due to salary. Councilman Jean Marcellus knew Marc Elias from Florida City and you can figure out the rest from there.
Prior to coming to North Miami Elias was a mere Broward Schools police employee. The School Board is known in the police community as a place for those who cannot get employed elsewhere in policing. It is a “stepping stone” job for men and women who lack either the skills or intellect to pass other entrance exams, have questionable backgrounds or marginal qualifications. It is not a job known for the crème de la crème of policing.
As an example, some the accomplishments that you list are not connected to Elias’ tenure at North Miami, rather they are training requirements established by FDLE, events that take place state wide, already in place prior to his hiring or they are provisions made via the State.
As far as crime statistics are concerned, this is simply accomplished by writing a number of events as “incident reports” instead of burglaries or thefts etc. This has been commonplace in North Miami for quite some time. For instance there have been many incidents at City Hall where it was discovered that someone was accessing records in the basement and stealing personal information. These cases were assigned to a detective and kept under the radar. They were not written as crimes. It occurred repeatedly. Among other unreported crimes is when City employees had their personal information, including social security numbers, stolen from City Hall. Many employees were subsequently victims of identity theft and fraudulent tax filings. These crimes, among others, are not things that the City wishes to have publicly known.
Mr. Elias, although superficially pleasant, is not adequately equipped to run a police department or be entrusted with the responsibility of the safety of North Miami’s citizens. After his hiring in North Miami it was glaringly obvious that was in over his head. He repeatedly directed officers to go to areas outside of the city to provide “courtesy” security at functions. He was unaware of the City boundaries or the officer’s jurisdiction. Officers and supervisors alike were left mouth agape when he gave directives in direct conflict with department rules and regulations. Elias demonstrated that he didn’t take steps to familiarize himself with the most basic aspects of policing in North Miami, didn’t read the policies, didn’t read procedure manuals, didn’t read civil service rules and dint even look at a jurisdiction map. He gave directives on serious calls that involved SWAT or hostage negotiations that were in conflict with basic policing standards.
These are only a few examples in a very long list of issues concerning the chief. The bottom line is that North Miami can do better and they should have. Hopefully the next choice in chief is well thought out and the candidates are properly screened and chosen for their qualifications first and foremost with ethnicity, “connections” and politics out of the equation.
Thank you Jim Randall. You said what needed to be said. You have great insight and perspective. You laid out what I implied – perfectly. Thank you again.
Obviously you are privy to information that those of us not on the “inside” would have any way of knowing. All the things you mentioned about his qualifications, the way he ran the department, etc., could only be known by those who worked with and under him. I cannot comment as to the veracity of any of those things.
When I wrote this article, I based my observations on facts that I was able to discover through research, and I provided links to that documentation for reference purposes. I have already stated that I do not know Chief Elias personally, nor have I ever worked with him. By your comments, it’s apparent that you have, and I will assume that you have reasons for your opinions.
The bigger question, in my opinion, is this: If Chief Elias was such a bad leader and administrator, as you state, why was he just now after all this time asked to resign? The Administration didn’t seem to have a problem with his performance when he was asked to provide security for the Mayor, or when he was asked to accompany her to Haiti. I assume you believe he was supposed to refuse those orders. Even so, eight months later, it’s all of a sudden a problem? Sorry, but that just doesn’t pass my personal smell test. It leads me to believe there is something more to this story.
Secondly, I’ve learned the hard way not to put too much faith in what others tell me to believe. In the past, I have unfairly judged an individual because of what one or more people said about him or her, only to find that those people had ulterior motives for wanting to discredit that person.
I have also been disappointed by the very people I thought I could trust only to be betrayed by them.
Yeah, people can suck.
The bottom line here is that from my limited encounter with Chief Elias, I found him to be a very cordial and pleasant person. He has done nothing wrong to me personally, and I don’t have a reason or a need to attack his character.
I do, however, have my suspicions that his sudden “resignation” has more to do with politics than his performance. I’m sorry if you disagree, but from out here in the peanut gallery it looks like the Chief was merely a scapegoat in a bigger political drama that’s being played out behind the scenes.
I’m not sure what your motive is for attempting to discredit Chief Elias, but that’s none of my business. I’m sure you have your reasons for feeling the way you do.
My only motive is to state the facts and then my opinion, for whatever its worth. And in this particular case, I am not convinced that Chief Elias has not been used as an expendable pawn in some sort of twisted chess game. Don’t forget – we are talking about North Miami, a city not known for its transparency or ethics.
Instead of following President Reagan’s advice to “trust, but verify,” when it comes to North Miami, I’ve learned it’s always best to “verify first, then slowly put your toe in the water to see if anything bites it off before you even begin to trust.”
Just saying.