Two years ago this month, Miami Beach brought in a new two-man combo to lead the troubled Miami Beach Police Department move past public black eyes.
By the end of April this year, both of them will be gone.
Ray Martinez announced his retirement today, ending a 12 and half year career with the MBPD. Effective on April 4th, but he has indicated he could stay longer until a replacement is found.
His Deputy Chief, Mark Overton, has already vacated the premises and is the top cop in neighboring Bal Harbor.
When he was tapped by Former City Manager Jorge Gonzalez, Miami Beach was reeling from a plethora of corruption: drunken cops running over beach bathers; cops arrested for racketeering; cops riddling memorial day weekend attendees; procurement corruption; and bribery in code enforcement.
Martinez was the second in command during that time, yet his and Overton’s hire (who had served as Hialeah’s chief) helped whitewash some of the concern.
Some cops off the record told NewsHole[DOT]Info at the time that the city hadn’t got enough outside the department to fix it.
During his administration, he oversaw the near militarization of Memorial Day Weekend on the beach. While hundreds were still arrested, there were no major incidents.
His administration also raised the heckles of the community when it was involved in the tazering death of teen Israel Hernandez.
And of course, there is always attention when a pop star is arrested on the island.
Martinez raised a few eyebrows recently when it came to light that he had applied for the chief position in South Miami. (His idea of retirement?) He was not hired.
In a statement Mayor Philip Levine said he was grateful for the service.
“We wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” said the mayor.
In the memo to the City Manager and the Commission Martinez cites the new mayor and commission as a factor for his retirement.
“I respect the movement in this city, and I have decided to step aside to provide the Mayor with the opportunity to select new leadership for this department,” said Martinez.
-Frank Maradiaga
Updated
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