Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales speaks to the media during a press conference discussing mid-year crime stats on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Miami.
D.A. Varela
dvarela@miamiherald.com
Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales came under fire Thursday when a city commissioner accused the chief of running to unseat him in next year’s election and using his official city position to “catapult” himself into elected office.
During Thursday’s commission meeting, Commissioner Ralph Rosado alleged that Morales has told various people that he plans to run in the 2027 election for the District 4 seat that Rosado currently occupies. With the chief standing at the podium in the commission chambers, Rosado asked him point-blank to respond to those allegations.
Morales said he has been “approached by members of the community” about a possible run for office, “but that is so far off in the future. In this business of public safety, I work one day at a time, sir. I have absolutely no plans right now to pursue that anytime soon.”
Rosado said he’d heard otherwise.
“I’ve heard from at least a dozen individuals who have said — unrelated individuals — who have said that you have said that you are going to be running for the District 4 seat,” Rosado said, “which puts me in a really uncomfortable position, because we’re paying you essentially half-a-million dollars a year to be campaigning on the job.”
Miami Commissioner Ralph Rosado speaks to the media during a press conference discussing mid-year crime stats on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Miami. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
Morales, who earns $350,000 a year in compensation, is set to retire in October. City Manager James Reyes said the city has had preexisting plans to begin the recruitment process for Morales’ successor in the near future and that the transition process between chiefs is scheduled to begin three months ahead of Morales’ retirement.
But Rosado said Morales’ departure from the city should be “much sooner.” He called on the city manager to appoint an interim chief and begin the search for Morales’ replacement “immediately.”
“I’m not willing to work with you all the way to October, or even much sooner than that, quite frankly,” Rosado said. “I find it dishonest for you to say that you’re being approached when you are telling people out in the community that you are running for this seat. … We live in a democracy. But you can’t work for the city and be doing that.”
Speaking to reporters after the confrontation, Morales denied the allegation that he’s done any campaigning. He said his position as chief is “apolitical” and that he has “no plans” to run for office. However, he wasn’t willing to rule out the possibility.
“I’m never ruling anything out,” Morales said. “I don’t know what the future might hold. Especially if I’m unemployed in six months. I might need a job.”
None of Rosado’s four colleagues supported his motion to remove Morales and appoint an interim chief. But Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela also aired some grievances, saying Morales recently hosted a “breakfast with the chief” event in Gabela’s district without notifying him first.
The Miami Police Department posted a video of the event on Instagram. In it, Morales thanks Gabela for “opening his doors here and allowing us to carry out our event.” The video was also shared on the official city of Miami Instagram account and on Morales’ account.
“So we had a strong support come out today,” Morales, wearing his police uniform, says in the video. “The community came out en masse.”
Gabela said he felt disrespected by not being informed in advance and that the administration is required to notify commissioners of events happening in their district. In 2019, the commission passed a resolution directing the administration “to communicate with the applicable District Commissioner’s Office to ascertain the District Commissioner’s availability prior to scheduling any such events in a District.”
“With all due respect, I expect you to let me know about it,” Gabela told the chief. “I would’ve probably said yeah.”
Gabela added that the transition to the next chief needs to start “sooner rather than later.”
New City Manager James Reyes introduces himself during the first Miami City Commission meeting of 2026 at Miami City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Reyes cautioned against efforts to oust the chief based on rumors, saying that “hurts our recruitment process as a city.” He told the commissioners that if anyone feels the chief violated policy, they should file a formal complaint.
“I have an expectation that none of my directors nor my chief campaign on duty,” Reyes said. “If there is an iota of evidence that either of my directors or my chief is campaigning on duty, you have my word that they will be terminated accordingly.”
Speaking to the Herald after the meeting, Rosado said he was considering his options, including filing a formal complaint against Morales.
“If he’s a person of honor, he should step down,” Rosado said.
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 2:49 PM.
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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.