Local News

Manny Morales Appointed As Police Chief Of Miami Police Department

February 28, 2022 / 5:40 PM EST / CBS Miami

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Manny Morales has been appointed as the police chief of the Miami Police Department.

"After further evaluating Chief Morales' performance during the first 100 days, I am extremely confident that he is eminently qualified, respected and admired by many and will continue to do a great job as Chief for the Police Department. Furthermore, this decision will ensure stability at the leadership level of the City's Police department, " said City Manager Noriega.

The announcement comes weeks after two high-level sources told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the job was going to Morales, who had been the department's interim police chief following the exit of Art Acevedo.

"I am incredibly honored and humbled to be selected as Chief of the Miami Police Department. I would like to thank our City Manager, Art Noriega, for having the confidence in my ability to guide our department into the next chapter, I am grateful to Mayor Suarez and all the City Commissioners for their support not only of me, but more importantly their support for all the men and women of the Miami Police that work hard every day to make Miami safer for all," Morales said.

Morales joined the department in 1994 as an officer and started his career in law enforcement when he was a military police officer in the U.S. Army for nearly four years.

Morales has worked as a patrolman and in the field training office in Model City, Little Haiti and the Flagami NET areas.

For the past three years, he has been in charge of the department's uniform division and crime prevention teams. He oversaw the Bomb Squad, SWAT and Homeland Security. He has worked in all three divisions of the department.

"To all the heroes of the Miami PD, I want to thank you for your steadfast commitment to our community policing principles, your daily sacrifices do not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. To our community, I pledge to hold the sanctity of human life at the center of all we do at the Miami Police Department," Morales said.