North Miami Police Chief Leonard Burgess doesn’t want to be bothered with silly little things like weeding out “bad” cops, treating women with respect, being honest about the crime rate, or maintaining a professional Public Information Office.
But he sure has lots of time and energy to hobnob with the power players in Miami-Dade County.
Especially the elite members of the Who’s Who in the South Florida Haitian Community.
After all, his wife is Haitian.
If it turns out that Chief Lenny does have political aspirations, it shouldn’t surprise anyone. He’s had plenty of practice running from the media. Running for office should be a breeze.
And besides, his wife is Haitian.
Instead of actually fighting and solving crimes, and factually reporting them, Chief Lenny seems to be more interested in photo ops for the Team Lenny flag football games.
More recently he’s been spotted attending a leadership conference, entitled Roadmap to Success: How to Get Elected and Serve Responsibly, which was hosted by Haitian Americans for Progress. (Download flyer here and here.)
According to an article posted in Le Floridien, Leadership Conference Held for Those Seeking to Join the Political Process and Serve Their Community Responsibly, the Political Action Committee, Haitian Americans for Progress, “has helped numerous political candidates win elections throughout the community by establishing Get Out the Vote efforts on a national and local level.”
The March 28, 2015 conference was held at the Center for Haitian Studies, and was attended by the political elite of the Haitian American community. The article noted, “A number of esteemed panelists took part in this conference, including Jean Monestime (the first and only Haitian American to serve on the Miami-Dade County Commission and also elected the chair of the board of county commissioners ), Florida’s first Haitian-American judge Judge Fred Seraphin, Andrew Korge, the son of prominent Miami Democratic fundraiser Chris Korge, Dr. Jean-Philippe Austin, MD, Radiation Oncologist, Juan Cuba, Advocate for working families; social-political entrepreneur, and Mark Lapointe, Esq., Lawyer at Law Advocate Group, LLP.”
Chief Lenny also attended because, well, his wife is Haitian.
That evening, a political fundraiser for the Political Action Committee was held at the North Miami home of Dr. Laurinus “Larry” Pierre, the President and CEO of Center for Haitian Studies, Inc. Several attendees told me they were surprised to see Chief Lenny at a political event considering his position at the North Miami Police Department. While not technically against the Department’s Rules and Regulations for police officers to support political candidates, it’s just odd for a Chief of Police to be schmoozing with the political jet set.
Oh, but wait! It’s okay because his wife is Haitian.
Interestingly, sources in attendance told me Chief Lenny made a big deal that night by pointing out to several politicos that not only was his wife Haitian, but that his Assistant Chief, Gary Eugene, was also Haitian.
This would be the same Assistant Chief Gary Eugene that Chief Lenny tried his best to avoid promoting until it became glaringly obvious he couldn’t put it off any longer.
Never mind that Chief Lenny has been doing whatever he can, whenever he can, to publicly disparage Mr. Eugene’s performance as Assistant Chief, when in the company of the Haitian political glitterati Chief Lenny is oh-so-proud of his pick.
Because, well, his wife is Haitian.
It’s his claim to fame.
And he wants to make sure you know it!
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
If I had a dollar for every effing time the chief has said his wife is Haitian I could retire in the Hamptons. This guy repeats that line like a broken record and it’s one of the jokes around the station that’s so bad I want to throw up.
The guy is like a bad case of herpes. You can’t get rid of him no matter how hard you try. City Manager, council and mayor, thanks for nothing!
The residents of North Miami DESERVE a Chief of Police with a reputation of UNQUESTIONED HONESTY AND CHARACTER. Assistant Chief of Police Gary Eugene, a Haitian American, has been a police officer for over 30 years. “Gary holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Florida International University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies from Barry University, and an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Miami-Dade College. He is also a graduate of the prestigious Southern Police Institute (S.P.I.) in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Senior Management Institute for Police Executives (S.M.I.P.) at Harvard’s Kennedy School.” http://www.northmiamipolice.com/about_nmpd/command_staff/eugene_gary.asp
I urge residents of North Miami to voice their opinions by contacting their council members and the city manager.
City Manager Aleem Ghany:
aghany@northmiamifl.gov
Mayor Smith Joseph:
sjoseph@northmiamifl.gov
Councilman Scott Galvin—District 1:
scott@scott-galvin.com
Councilwoman Carol Keys—District 2:
ckeys@northmiamifl.gov
Councilman Philippe Bien-Aime—District 3:
Pbien-aime@northmiamifl.gov
Councilwoman Marie Steril—District 4:
msteril@northmiamifl.gov
Ellen, North Miami’s politicians have spoken and what are they saying? “We don’t give a damn if the chief is crooked, a lecherous pervert or useless as boobs on a bull. We don’t care if every cop on the police force is a deceptive stalker with borderline personality disorder. We don’t care. We want our checks, city stipends, paid healthcare and all the perks that come with the job but we don’t really give two flying squirrels whether the police department implodes. We don’t care.” The city manager isn’t far behind. He’s just saying “I may care but I’m not going to make a move when I can just sit here and collect my check and increase my pension and benefits.”
“His wife is Haitian” and that makes him WHAT????
Non-Haitian?
He’s a clown that’s what he is.
BOZO LENNY BURGESS the North Miami chief clown.