New Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez looks forward to meeting community
MIAMI - Edwin Lopez sat down exclusively with CBS4's Nicole Lauren to talk about stepping into his new role as the Chief of Police for the City of Doral.
Monday was his first day on the job. Lopez, who is extremely excited about this opportunity, said during his first 100 days at work he plans to meet with all the staff at the Doral Police Department and go out to meet the community.
Lauren asked Lopez about some of his goals in his new role and he said, "Some key focal points are going to be retaining and recruiting police officers. That's critical to any law enforcement agency."
Lopez said community policing is critical to running a successful department. Something he believes contributed to his success at the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department where he served as chief for five years.
Lopez said there is no denying his job as the head of the school district's police department was stressful, protecting over 350 thousand students every single day.
"Obviously, we're dealing with kids and because we have so many of them, every night I went to sleep and thought how can we ensure our kids are safe in schools and the next school day. You could never fully guarantee with 100 percent certainty that you can maintain safety and security," he said
Lopez served with Miami-Dade Schools Police for over 20 years. During his time as chief, the police department grew in size to become one of the largest school police departments in the country with over 500 sworn police officers.
Currently, Miami-Dade Schools is looking at internal candidates to fill his role. Interim Chief Ivan Silva has served with the department for over 20 years.
Chief Lopez said he trusts the school board will make the right choice and has some advice for his successor.
"Just listen and go out there and be proactive in schools. The kids are so valuable. Three hundred and fifty thousand of them, all have so much information about what it means to be in a classroom and what potential risk factors are present."
He added, "Be involved in social media and really listen to the students and staff at school. That was critical to my success."
Lopez will be officially sworn in as the Police Chief for the City of Doral on Wednesday, January 25th.
