One-on-one with new North Miami Police Chief Cherise Gause
MIAMI - For the first time, we are hearing from Cherise Gause who is going to be sworn in on Friday as the newest Police Chief for the City of North Miami.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench, Gause said she a special message for residents of the city of more than 60,000 people.
She said, "The message to the community is that we want to build relationships that we need with the community in order to grow North Miami and make a strong community. We as police officers can't do this alone so it's going to take everybody in a concerted effort to drive the community forward. We are here and we want the community to be heard. We want the community to have a voice and I want them to know that we will be respectful to their needs."
Gause, a 50-year-old married mother of three children, said she is looking forward to running the department with some 120 officers.
She started her career 30 years ago as a dispatcher with the city of Miami and worked her way up the ranks and worked in all three divisions including field operations, administration and criminal investigations.
She will be the 5th woman to currently lead a police department in
Miami-Dade county and the 15th police chief for North Miami since 1945. Gause had been an Assistant Police Chief for Miami since 2019 and is the 2nd female Police Chief for North Miami. She turns 51 on Monday.
Gause said, "I am very excited to become police chief and realize a dream that I have worked my entire career to achieve. This is a surreal moment for me.
She said, "My goals are to do more with recruitment and crime reduction. First and foremost public safety is going to be at the forefront of everything I do. Community engagement is important and building relations with the community. That is very important and something I am very passionate abut. So it's improving that and building those sustainable relationships.
She also said, "We need to do more with technology to assist in our efforts to reduce crime."
Gause also said mental wellness was an important issue for her Officers.
She said, "It is important because I think people must remember as officers we are human beings and when we put on the uniforms we see a lot at work so it is important to remember that just as much that we are concerned about the well being and mental health of our community just to remember there is a humanistic side to law enforcement because their have families and kids and important issues."
Gause recalled how she started her career.
"I started in the City of Miami when I was very young," she said. "I was 20 years old in 1993 and I was in need of a job and I started as a dispatcher and part of my assignment was to take a ride with a police officer and learn the geography of the city of Miami."
She said her experience with Miami Police helped her tremendously.
"I come from a major city, a major metropolitan city where you experience so many different things and it is never monotonous and every day you are learning. I think there was professional development there too, going back to school for my degree and everything where I came full circle and that has prepared me for this moment."
She had a message for her Officers.
She said, "What I want them to know is that we want to be an agency that is respectful of our community at all times. I want them to be very familiar with what I refer to as community policing and compassionate policing. I also want them to know as an incoming Chief I want to be open on what my thoughts are and learn the culture of North MIami."
She said, "Sometimes you think you come from an amazing city and you have all the answers. Well I don't and they can actually teach me some things. This is a growing city, a thriving city and I want to be a part of that growing community."
Gause also had a message for residents of North Miami.
She said, "The message to the community is that we want to build relationships that we need in the community in order to grow North Miami and make a strong community. We as police officers can't do this alone so it's going to take everybody and a concerted effort to drive the community forward."
"We are here," she said. "We want the community to be heard. We want the community to have a voice and I want them to know we will be respectful to their needs."