Gotta kind of admire the guy, regardless of my thoughts on the Elian debacle. He refuses to be a political pawn and instead stands on priniciple. Not too common these days:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Miami Police Chief Resigns in Elian's Wake
April 28, 2000 2:15 pm EST
By Lisa Baertlein
MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami's police chief resigned on Friday amid continued anger and
political fallout over the U.S. government's raid last weekend to seize Cuban castaway
Elian Gonzalez from the Little Havana home of his relatives.
Police Chief William O'Brien's announcement came hours after Miami Mayor Joe
Carollo fired his city manager, Donald Warshaw, who had supported O'Brien over
Carollo's objections in the Elian case.
"I refuse to be the chief of police in a city that has someone as divisive and
destructive as Joe Carollo as mayor," O'Brien said, announcing his retirement before
a crowd of emotional police and city employees at Miami police headquarters.
Cuban-born Carollo has angrily attacked the police chief for not informing him of last
Saturday's predawn raid before it happened, and there have been accusations from
Cubans in the community that the police were too heavy-handed with demonstrators
afterward.
Carollo, who is Cuban-born and a staunch supporter of efforts by the Miami relatives
to keep 6-year-old Elian in the United States rather than send him back to communist
Cuba, had called for O'Brien to be fired. But only the city manager can fire the police
chief and Warshaw was not inclined to do so.
O'Brien, who has served 25 years in the police department, said he was resigning
partly because Cuban exile outrage over Elian needed a focal point.
"I know there's incredible anger and frustration in the exile community and I want to
tell you if you're looking for a focal point for that frustration, here it is. I gave the
orders," O'Brien said.
CAROLLO DENIES ELIAN LINK
Elian has been the focus of a fierce custody battle since he was brought to Miami last
November after surviving a disastrous migrant voyage in which his mother and 10
others died fleeing Cuba.
The Miami relatives who brought him in and many of Miami's fiercely anti-communist
Cuban exiles argued he should not go back to Cuba, but Elian's father, who came to
the United States to retrieve him, wanted him back.
Carollo was also angry because an officer under O'Brien worked with federal agents
on the predawn raid, which led to Elian being reunited with his father in the
Washington area pending the outcome of an asylum hearing scheduled in May.
On Thursday evening, Carollo said his decision to fire Warshaw was in the city's best
interest and that it was not related to the raid. But many people were skeptical.
"I think the mayor still hasn't gotten over the fact that I didn't give him a call on that. I
was bound by law, but even if there hadn't been a law there's no way I would have let
him know about it," said O'Brien, flanked by Warshaw and senior police employees,
who applauded numerous times during the announcement.
He said supporters have told him they could bring out thousands of people to help him
keep his job.
But O'Brien said, "I refuse to be the lightning rod of divisiveness in this community....
The community has to begin to heal. The community has to put this behind them. The
community has to move forward. I petition the community to do just that."
CONTINUED UPHEAVAL
Warshaw's firing and O'Brien's resignation were just the latest upheavals in Miami's
chaotic political landscape.
The city has been dubbed a "banana republic" by critics fed up with corruption in
public office and a perception that some officials are more loyal to their Cuban
backers and the exiles' fierce opposition to the island's communist President Fidel
Castro than to Miami residents' greater well-being.
Carollo was given his post in March 1998 after a judge, citing rife voter fraud,
overturned the city's 1997 mayoral election and removed Xavier Suarez from office.
Humberto Hernandez, an up-and-coming city commissioner, is now doing time in jail
for his role in the voter-fraud scheme.
Miami, led by Warshaw and other staffers, has only recently begun to see the fruits of
efforts to bring order to its finances. In 1996 the city revealed it had a $68 million
deficit in the city's $275 million budget, prompting former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles
to appoint a state-run oversight board.
The city's bonds are rated just above junk status and New York debt analysts
frequently urge the city commission to maintain political and economic stability in the
city.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Miami Police Chief Resigns in Elian's Wake
April 28, 2000 2:15 pm EST
By Lisa Baertlein
MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami's police chief resigned on Friday amid continued anger and
political fallout over the U.S. government's raid last weekend to seize Cuban castaway
Elian Gonzalez from the Little Havana home of his relatives.
Police Chief William O'Brien's announcement came hours after Miami Mayor Joe
Carollo fired his city manager, Donald Warshaw, who had supported O'Brien over
Carollo's objections in the Elian case.
"I refuse to be the chief of police in a city that has someone as divisive and
destructive as Joe Carollo as mayor," O'Brien said, announcing his retirement before
a crowd of emotional police and city employees at Miami police headquarters.
Cuban-born Carollo has angrily attacked the police chief for not informing him of last
Saturday's predawn raid before it happened, and there have been accusations from
Cubans in the community that the police were too heavy-handed with demonstrators
afterward.
Carollo, who is Cuban-born and a staunch supporter of efforts by the Miami relatives
to keep 6-year-old Elian in the United States rather than send him back to communist
Cuba, had called for O'Brien to be fired. But only the city manager can fire the police
chief and Warshaw was not inclined to do so.
O'Brien, who has served 25 years in the police department, said he was resigning
partly because Cuban exile outrage over Elian needed a focal point.
"I know there's incredible anger and frustration in the exile community and I want to
tell you if you're looking for a focal point for that frustration, here it is. I gave the
orders," O'Brien said.
CAROLLO DENIES ELIAN LINK
Elian has been the focus of a fierce custody battle since he was brought to Miami last
November after surviving a disastrous migrant voyage in which his mother and 10
others died fleeing Cuba.
The Miami relatives who brought him in and many of Miami's fiercely anti-communist
Cuban exiles argued he should not go back to Cuba, but Elian's father, who came to
the United States to retrieve him, wanted him back.
Carollo was also angry because an officer under O'Brien worked with federal agents
on the predawn raid, which led to Elian being reunited with his father in the
Washington area pending the outcome of an asylum hearing scheduled in May.
On Thursday evening, Carollo said his decision to fire Warshaw was in the city's best
interest and that it was not related to the raid. But many people were skeptical.
"I think the mayor still hasn't gotten over the fact that I didn't give him a call on that. I
was bound by law, but even if there hadn't been a law there's no way I would have let
him know about it," said O'Brien, flanked by Warshaw and senior police employees,
who applauded numerous times during the announcement.
He said supporters have told him they could bring out thousands of people to help him
keep his job.
But O'Brien said, "I refuse to be the lightning rod of divisiveness in this community....
The community has to begin to heal. The community has to put this behind them. The
community has to move forward. I petition the community to do just that."
CONTINUED UPHEAVAL
Warshaw's firing and O'Brien's resignation were just the latest upheavals in Miami's
chaotic political landscape.
The city has been dubbed a "banana republic" by critics fed up with corruption in
public office and a perception that some officials are more loyal to their Cuban
backers and the exiles' fierce opposition to the island's communist President Fidel
Castro than to Miami residents' greater well-being.
Carollo was given his post in March 1998 after a judge, citing rife voter fraud,
overturned the city's 1997 mayoral election and removed Xavier Suarez from office.
Humberto Hernandez, an up-and-coming city commissioner, is now doing time in jail
for his role in the voter-fraud scheme.
Miami, led by Warshaw and other staffers, has only recently begun to see the fruits of
efforts to bring order to its finances. In 1996 the city revealed it had a $68 million
deficit in the city's $275 million budget, prompting former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles
to appoint a state-run oversight board.
The city's bonds are rated just above junk status and New York debt analysts
frequently urge the city commission to maintain political and economic stability in the
city.