When North Miami Police Chief Leonard Burgess chose to defy all logic (not to mention a disposition panel recommendation and a City Manager directive) by entering into a Last Chance Agreement with deviant cop Jodlyn Antoine, he put his own job on the line.

The Chief took a calculated risk by supporting an officer who is known to be a sexual predator by members of both the North Miami and Biscayne Park Police Departments, as well as the media, and most importantly, by his victims.

Burgess can’t claim that he didn’t know Antoine’s history of stalking women.  And, unless he is completely clueless, he had to know that Antoine would do it again.

Ever since I uncovered the latest citizen complaint made against Jodlyn Antoine, which Chief Lenny desperately tried to keep from prying eyes (sources told me that even the City Manager had no idea a complaint was lodged), he quickly scrambled to cover his own ass by finally  calling for an Internal Affairs investigation.

Chief Lenny sprung into action.

After covering it up for over a month!

If City Manager Aleem Ghany is serious about keeping bad cops out of his police department, now is the time for him to step up and do the job he was hired to do.

It’s also the time for everyone to heed Councilman Scott Galvin’s admonishment that “city officials need to behave better!”

And most importantly, the Mayor and Council need to do the jobs they were elected to do by protecting the residents of North Miami from predators like Jodlyn Antoine.

Aleem Ghany told the Chief to fire Antoine after his last Internal Affairs investigation resulted in a recommendation of “termination” by the disposition panel.  The Chief danced around that directive with the excuse of “progressive discipline.”

Now that Antoine has exhibited “progressive misbehavior,” Chief Lenny can’t use that lame excuse this time around.

Instead of accepting responsibility for his major screw up, guess who the Chief is pointing the finger at now.

THE UNION!

You read that right!

Since Burgess kept a corrupt cop on the payroll, obviously for political reasons – not because he was worth keeping, he’s claiming that the “union” (Dade County Police Benevolent Association) pressured him into entering into the Last Chance Agreement.

BULLSHIT!

I have no doubt that the PBA attorneys were simply doing their jobs to try to save Antoine’s.  That’s what they get paid to do.  That’s also the reason Antoine pays his union dues.

Chief Leonard Burgess, on the other hand, is not a member of the PBA, doesn’t have to answer to the union, nor does he have to cooperate with them if he chooses not to.

In addition, the Chief had amassed more than enough “evidence” against Antoine to fire him for cause with or without the union’s agreement or consent.  The PBA is no more at fault for Chief Leonard Burgess’ negligent retention of Officer Jodlyn Antoine than any of Antoine’s victims are at fault for being stalked by him.

This entire fiasco was completely avoidable.

Had Chief Leonard Burgess done the right thing in the first place, there would be one less woman victimized in North Miami today.

The Mayor and Council need to do everything in their power to make sure she was the last.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”