Hialeah Councilman Bryan Calvo sues Mayor Esteban Bovo over 911 call center records
MIAMI - Hialeah councilman Bryan Calvo has filed a lawsuit against Mayor Esteban Bovo related to the overburdened city's 911 call center.
Calvo claims he has asked Bovo on several occasions for access to information to provide potential solutions to the issues with 911. The councilman said he's only been met with resistance from the city and Bovo.
Calvo said when he requested documents through a public records request, he was told he'd be charged nearly $7,000 for them. He also alleges Mayor Bovo will not allow him to introduce agenda items or speak to department heads without the mayor's permission.
"We're asking a judge to intervene and delineate the powers of the mayor, the powers I have as a council member to balance and check the mayor," Calvo said.
He said Mayor Bovo's interference was a violation of his rights as a council member.
"If these constraints by the mayor are left unchallenged they set a very dangerous precedent, not only in Hialeah but in cities across the state of Florida. That any mayor in the state of Florida, that any mayor who wishes to go above and beyond the powers vested by the city charter, they can diminish the power a legislative body or a council member has," said Calvo.
CBS News Miami's partner The Miami Herald was the first to report on concerns over missed 911 calls. Calvo showed CBS News Miami a huge stack of documents, that he said, show from June of 2021 through June of 2023 28,841 911 calls were missed.
We asked Mayor Bovo about the lawsuit. "We're going to let our attorneys react and really I have no comment and won't participate in this circus," Bovo said.
Previously, the Mayor said the call center is fully functional and ready to answer any emergency calls that are received. He added that Calvo's grievances are a witch hunt.
The mayor has 20 days to respond to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Calvo is hoping to have a court hearing within the next 2-3 months.
