Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales attends a funeral service for a Miami Beach sergeant on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Alie Skowronski
askowronski@miamiherald.com
The city of Miami has agreed to pay out $400,000 to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Miami Police Department commander who accused the police chief of critiquing her hairstyle and telling her she needed to “tone” down her look, and then retaliating against her when she refused to conform.
In a 4-1 vote, the Miami City Commission on Thursday approved the settlement in the case brought by Weslyne Lewis Francois, an 18-year veteran of the Miami Police Department who sued the city in October 2024. Lewis Francois, who is Black and of Haitian-Bahamian descent, alleged that starting in 2020, Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales, then the interim chief, made comments about her appearance and told her to change her hairstyle, then “targeted” her with “negative evaluations, unwarranted disciplinary actions, and had her placed on a 90-day performance improvement plan aimed at setting her up for failure.”
In a deposition, Lewis Francois said Morales would make comments that began with, “‘Oh, hair’s nice, but,’ and then it progressed to where, at this point, is where the racist tone comes into it.” Her attorney previously told the Miami Herald that Morales “wanted her hair to look more European.”
The lawsuit alleged that Morales’ “actions were aimed at undermining the identities of Black women, reinforcing a narrative of superiority that positioned them as lesser individuals.”
Morales in a deposition acknowledged having told Lewis Francois in a phone call that “I need you to tone down the hair.” Morales said he made those comments “in an off-duty capacity” and that he did so because her hair “was not within the guidelines of the Miami Police Department,” according to the deposition. He described Lewis Francois as a “toxic individual that absolutely spoiled the chemistry” among staff, saying her job performance is why she was later demoted to lieutenant in late 2022.
READ MORE: Miami Police Chief harassed veteran Black officer after making racist remark: lawsuit
Thursday’s vote to settle the case marks an about-face from a previous commission meeting earlier in the month. At that meeting, the City Commission voted down the settlement agreement after Morales told commissioners that he “would love to see this go to trial.”
“For those 32 years that I’ve been here, I’ve always guided myself by the principles that rules matter, that behavior matters, that professional decorum matters,” Morales said at the Feb. 12 meeting. “And to have something like this pass and move on and make a settlement sends the entire Miami Police Department a message that those things do not matter, as long as you’re willing to get an attorney.”
But on Thursday, two weeks later, Morales had a change of heart. He no longer expressed opposition to settling the case but did ask for an investigation to be conducted by the city’s Equal Opportunity Diversity Programs office, which “investigates internal complaints involving employment discrimination and handles charges of discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Florida Commission on Human Relations, and Miami-Dade County Commission on Human Rights.”
Morales said such an investigation increases transparency, limits liability and “puts the best interest of the city of Miami in the forefront.”
It’s unclear why Morales’ position changed over the course of the last two weeks. He declined further comment Thursday.
Lewis Francois’ attorney, Michael Pizzi, after Thursday’s vote said they were pleased with the outcome.
“For over 20 years Ms. Lewis Francois has dedicated her life to serving and protecting the families and businesses of the City of Miami,” Pizzi said. “We are happy to resolve this case and she looks forward to continuing her life’s work of serving the public with honor and integrity.”
The settlement lands at a time of increased scrutiny for Morales. Earlier this month, Commissioner Ralph Rosado called for his immediate removal, alleging that Morales was campaigning to unseat him in next year’s election for the District 4 seat, and that Morales was using his position as chief to launch himself into elected office.
Rosado was the only commissioner to vote against the settlement agreement Thursday, saying in a statement that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“To me, a vote to approve this settlement is a vote for sweeping this under the rug and not allowing justice to take its course. I vote for Justice,” Rosado said.
City Manager James Reyes, whose background is in law enforcement, said that Morales will stay on until October, when he’s scheduled to retire. The city will begin a transition period three months ahead of Morales’ retirement, Reyes said. As city manager, Reyes is responsible for selecting the police chief.
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Tess Riski covers Miami City Hall. She joined the Miami Herald in 2022 and has covered local politics throughout Miami-Dade County. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School’s Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.