Miami Beach Top Cop Announces Retirement After 'Great Run'

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Saying "it's been a great run" and an honor to serve the community, Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates on Friday announced his intent to step down as top cop on this urban resort island 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 has learned from multiple Miami Beach sources that commissioners are likely to offer the top job to Deputy Chief Rick Clements, a Miami Beach career officer, who was shot in the line of duty and is highly respected by fellow officers.

The chief's announcement 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.

"It's been a great experience working for you and with your leadership team, but it finally feels right to end my 38-year-career in law enforcement," Oates penned in a letter submitted to Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales.

Oates' retirement will take effect when his five-year contract expires in June.

Commissioner Ricky Arriola told Patch that Oates took over a department in turmoil and has done a "magnificent job" turning things around.

"The chief was brought in five years ago at a time when Miami Beach Police Department was really in turmoil, capturing a lot of national media attention — and not the positive kind — where we had well-publicized
episodes of police acting unprofessionally," according to the commissioner.

He said Oates reestablished order in the department and set 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.

"I think one of the elements where we probably need to reexamine is just this notion of community policing and making sure that police are visible on the street in the neighborhoods," Arriola said. "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."

Commissioner John Alemán agreed that Chief Oates transformed the department into a much more professional organization than the one he inherited.

"I really admire Chief Oates," she said. "There used to be a lot of grey area in which bad decisions got made and he brought forward sort of a higher ethical standard, more black and white in terms of the protocols and created the environment in which our police officers can be successful."

But 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 told Patch.

Chief Oates has advocated a more measured approach.

"The chief, based on his experience, believed that when you go in and enforce that you are opening up conflict," Alemán said. "The level of respect for the authority of a police officer has definitely eroded. Over spring break we had police officers that were in uniform, patrolling, that got slapped on the back of the head, shoved in the back while we were walking in a crowd. That was unheard of 20 years ago and now it's very common."

Morales praised the "discipline, integrity and dedication to the safety of our residents" that Oates brought to the department while Mayor Dan Gelber told Local 10 News that Oates came in as a "highly regarded" law enforcement professional in 2014 and will be leaving with his reputation intact.

In March, Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora publicly suggested it may be time to consider a new chief when Oates' contract comes up for renewal.

"Change has to start at the top and I am not responsible for the hiring of our police chief," Gongora said at the time as commissioners were reeling from a spring break marked by a number of violent incidents. "I'm not satisfied with the performance."

Oates said in his letter that it was always his intention to retire from his Miami Beach job and said he looked forward to new opportunities outside of law enforcement.

"I will always cherish my time in Miami Beach," he said. "Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you have given me these past five years."