TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Miami's new mayor sworn in; police chief will step down

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: November 11, 2009

Updated: 11/11/2009 01:53 pm

MIAMI - On the same day Miami swore in a new mayor, it was learned the city's police chief was stepping down.

City officials said Wednesday that police Chief John Timoney would stay until a new chief is chosen.

Phone and e-mail messages left by The Associated Press to Timoney's office and city officials were not immediately returned.

Newly elected Mayor Tomas Regalado was sworn Wednesday in at an inauguration ceremony. Regalado has said he wanted to remove Timoney from the position.

Timoney has been police chief for seven years. He previously held leading police posts in Philadelphia and New York. He is generally credited with improving a Miami department scarred by violence and scandal.

Havana-born Regalado, a former city commissioner and television reporter, was elected mayor Nov. 3, taking nearly 72 percent of the vote.

Regalado is replacing outgoing mayor Manny Diaz, who served two four-year terms and couldn't run again.

Regalado came to Miami with his younger brother in the so-called "Pedro Pan Flights" of the early 1960s. The 62-year-old was first elected as a city commissioner in 1996.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT