City of Miami
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
10:00 AM
Commission Chambers
Civil Service Board
Troy Sutton, Chairperson
Rodrigo Jimenez, Chief Examiner
Rafael Cabrera, Board Member
Ulysses Garcia, Board Member
Travis Lindsey, Board Member
Pledge of Allegiance
The meeting was called to order at 10:07 am, with the Pledge of Allegiance. At commencement of the meeting, attendance was as follows:
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Attendee Name
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Title
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Status
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Troy Sutton
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Chairperson
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Present
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Rodrigo Jimenez
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Chief Examiner
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Present
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Rafael Cabrera
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Board Member
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Present
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Ulysses Garcia
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Board Member
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Absent
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Travis Lindsey
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Board Member
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Present
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Adoption of Agenda
Chair Sutton asked if there were any revisions to the Agenda. Hearing none, a motion to adopt the Agenda as printed was considered and resulted as follows:
Motion by Board Member Cabrera, seconded by Board Member Lindsey, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:
AYES: Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Lindsey
A. Approving of the Minutes
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A.1
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Civil Service Board - Regular Meeting - January 10, 2023
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Motion by Board Member Lindsey, seconded by Board Member Cabrera, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:
AYES: Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Lindsey
B. Personnel Matters
C. Military Leaves of Absence
D. Disciplinary Matters
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D.1
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Ruben Lameira, Police Officer, of a 20-hour suspension, effective January 12, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.2
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Horace Jones, Police Officer, of a 10-hour suspension, effective January 12, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.3
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Izary Navarro, Police Officer, of a 10-hour suspension, effective January 14, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.4
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Weslyne Lewis Francois, Police Commander, of a 10-hour suspension, effective January 10, 2023., and a request to Appeal from Commander Lewis Francois. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.5
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Ryan Michel, Police Officer, of an 80-hour suspension, effective January 22, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.6
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Adan Pupo, Police Officer, of a 20-hour suspension, effective January 20, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.7
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Marche’ Curry, Police Officer, of a 10-hour suspension, effective January 29, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.8
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Derek Charles, Police Officer, of a 20-hour suspension, effective January 21, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.9
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Derek Charles, Police Officer, of a 40-hour suspension, effective January 26, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.10
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Adrian Cabello, Police Officer, of a 10-hour suspension, effective January 25, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.11
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Adrian Cabello, Police Officer, of a 20-hour suspension, effective January 29, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.12
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Julian Comas, Police Officer, of a 10-hour suspension, effective January 25, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.13
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Julian Comas, Police Officer, of a 20-hour suspension, effective February 1, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.14
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Juan Meza, Police Officer, of a 10-hour forfeiture, effective January 18, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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D.15
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Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Mario Sevilla Mai-Lai, Police Officer, of a 10-hour forfeiture, effective January 24, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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E. General Items
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E.1
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Third Status update regarding the Whistleblower Hearing on behalf of Lourdes Blanco, former Executive Director of the Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority, related to her Termination, effective October 25, 2018. (DISCUSSION)
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Ramon Guillen, Attorney, appeared before the Board on behalf of Lourdes Blanco, former Executive Director of the Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority. He provided the Board members with a status update concerning his client and requested the Board to schedule his client's hearing for a date in April.
Chair Sutton asked the Executive Secretary for a date in April to accommodate Attorney Guillen's request. The Executive Secretary suggested April 4, 2023, and tentatively for April 11, 2023, depending on the availability of the City Commission Chambers. Following discussion, the Board entered a motion to GRANT a special hearing date for April 4, 2023, and April 11, 2023 (tentative), which resulted as follows:
Motion by Board Member Jimenez, seconded by Board Member Lindsey, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:
AYES: Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Lindsey
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E.2
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Yaoska Vanegas, Police Sergeant, request to remove her name from the Grievance Hearing of Lizlinda Bremer, et. al., Police Sergeants, (CSB#22-30G-A), as it relates to the 2022 Police Lieutenant Exam. (NOTIFICATION)
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F. Reports
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F.1
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Hearings Pending List as of January 24, 2023. (NOTIFICATION)
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G. Requests for Hearings
H. Today's Hearings
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H.1
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Whistleblower Hearing in accordance with Florida Statute 112.3187 on behalf of Brandon Lanier, Commander & Wanda Jean Baptiste, Police Officer.
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Day 1: January 24, 2023
The Board entered into the scheduled Whistleblower Hearing in accordance with Florida Statute 112.3187 on behalf of Brandon Lanier, Commander & Wanda Jean Baptiste, Police Officer.
The Grievant was represented by Griska Mena, Staff Counsel, South Florida Police Benevolent Association. The Miami Police Department was represented by Stephanie Panoff, Assistant City Attorney, Office of the City Attorney.
The hearing began today with presentation of the department's case in chief. The Board heard testimony from the following witnesses:
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Elizabeth Albert, Investigator, Civilian Investigative Panel. Questions were posed by Members Cabrera, Jimenez
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Angelica Rodriguez, Police Officer, City of Miami Police Department. Questions were posed by Members Lindsey, Cabrera, Jimenez
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Walter Singer, Police Officer, City of Miami Police Department. Questions were posed by Member Lindsey
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Orlando Benitez, Police Officer, City of Miami Police Department. Questions were posed by Members Lindsey, Cabrera
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Robert Robinson, Police Sergeant, City of Miami Police Department. Questions were posed by Member Cabrera
Due to time constraints, the hearing will continue to a Special Civil Service Board meeting of January 31, 2023. The Minutes from this hearing will be placed, in their entirety upon conclusion of the hearing.
ADJOURNMENT:
Breaks were taken at: 10:20am - 10:34am; 2:45pm – 2:56pm; 11:55am - 12:49pm (lunch).
There being no further business before the Board, a motion was entered to adjourn the meeting at 4:22 pm, which resulted as follows:
Motion by Board Member Jimenez, seconded by Board Member Lindsey, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:
AYES: Sutton, Cabrera, Lindsey, Jimenez
SIGNATURE: Troy Sutton, Chairperson
ATTEST: Tishria L. Mindingall, Executive Secretary