Miami Beach Picks Highly Respected Officer As New Police Chief

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Rick Clements, a Miami Beach career police officer, who was shot in the line of duty and is highly respected by fellow officers, has been named the new police chief of the urban resort island to follow Chief Daniel Oates.

As Patch first reported in April, Clements was the clear frontrunner for the job having served as deputy chief under Oates.

“I’ve witnessed Clements’ personal commitment to professionalism in the department and his eagerness to continue to advance the agency as Deputy Chief since I came to Miami Beach in 2013,” said Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy L. Morales. “There is no candidate better suited to lead, and I have full confidence he’ll take the department to new heights and ensure its integrity.”

Wayne A. Jones, who has served in the department since 1996, was named as deputy police chief. City officials said Jones has experience in patrol and special operations, community affairs, internal affairs and criminal investigations. Most recently, he was major of the Criminal Investigations Division where he oversaw investigations.

Saying "it's been a great run" and an honor to serve the community, Oates announced his intent to step down as top cop after 38 years in law enforcement and a career that took him from the skyscrapers of New York City to the mountains of Aurora, Colorado, where he oversaw the law enforcement response to one of the worst mass shootings in modern history.

Patch cited multiple Miami Beach sources in reporting that commissioners were likely to offer the job to Clements, who is part of three generations of Miami Beach officers, including his father and son.

In 1995, Clements suffered a gunshot wound in his thigh. While injured, he returned fire and struck the shooter who later received a 30-year prison sentence.

“No candidate has the depth of knowledge about this city and the department that Chief Clements possess,” added Morales. “He’s not only well-respected within the organization, having served in practically every division and unit, but among his peers in the county having participated on most, if not all, of the regional task forces in which the city participates.”

The transfer of power follows a difficult spring break for Miami Beach police that required officers to work long hours and challenged Oates to implement an unprecedented police crackdown that appeared to make him uncomfortable as he outlined the potential ramifications at a meeting of frustrated elected officials.

Commissioner Ricky Arriola credited Oates with reestablishing order in the department and setting high standards in a community of only 90,000 that swells to accommodate 14 million visitors each year. He developed "a really excellent command staff" and brought in new technology such as body cameras, license plate readers and surveillance cameras, according to Arriola.

But moving forward Arriola said officials may want to reexamine the notion of community policing.

"We will be trying to determine what's the appropriate level of feet on the street, visibility of police officers in neighborhoods and in commercial districts," Arriola said at the time Oates announced he was stepping down.

Commissioner John Alemán also told Patch that she and other commissioners want to see more hands-on enforcement of flagrant violations of laws against open containers and smoking marijuana in public.

"Those are things that have continued to challenge us and created this street party scene that unfortunately in today's environment is dangerous, violent, a lot of fighting," she said in an earlier interview.

Chief Oates advocated a more measured approach.

The swearing-in ceremony will be taking place at 10 a.m. Monday, July 1 in the City Commission Chambers on the third floor of 1700 Convention Center Drive in Miami Beach.