MIAMI (WSVN) - A Miami Police captain who claimed he was black at a city commission meeting has been suspended.
Miami Police have confirmed that Capt. Javier Ortiz has been suspended with pay, days after he made the controversial claim during a Miami Commission meeting, Friday.
At the meeting, members of the union representing black officers expressed concerns over alleged racism and discrimination in the Miami Police Department.
“As far as Captain [Dana] Carr, she loves to call me a Latin male. I’m a black male. Yes, I am, and I am not Hispanic. I was born in this country,” he told commissioners.
Miami Police officials did not go into the specifics of Ortiz’s suspension and only confirmed that he was relieved of duty with pay.
Video of Ortiz’s remarks at Miami City Hall in Coconut Grove went viral.
Miami Police Sgt. Stanley Jean-Poix, the president of the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, also questioned Ortiz’s professionalism during the Friday meeting.
“Let me just show you his history here,” he said. “He is constantly putting the city in liability.”
The association presented information from an independent investigation that found, during Ortiz’s time with the department, he changed his race from white Hispanic male to black non-Hispanic while applying for promotions.
“It’s an insult to African Americans that you would use our race to get an advantage on the exam, so that way you can get promoted,” Jean-Poix said. “People are still in shock. They can’t believe it actually happened.”
The Miami-Dade NAACP posted a clip of the meeting on Instagram, writing in part, “His comments are disturbing. And in the manner how he used them, downright disturbing to say the least.”
Friday’s remarks do not mark the first time Ortiz has made headlines.
From 2011 to 2017, Ortiz was the head of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, but he lost the position following accusations that he harassed women.
Thomas Reyes, the current president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, said in a statement, “I am embarrassed and saddened by Javier’s public comments. When the time comes, it will be up to our members if he will receive representation. But in the meantime, I, as his union president, will protect his rights to due process and ensure that he is treated fairly.”
“This is a step in the right direction,” Jean-Poix said. “I would like to see him terminated fully, but this is a step in the right direction. I thought it would come. Not this quick, but eventually, I thought it would come.”
The office of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he will be meeting with Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina to discuss Ortiz’s suspension.
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