![\"Doral](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_SPECIAL_SESSION_DAV12.jpeg\" "\\"Doral")
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Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez speaks during a City Council meeting at Doral\u2019s Government Center on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.<\/p>\n
D.A. Varela<\/p>\n
dvarela@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
With Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales headed for retirement later this year, the city is eyeing the top cop in another South Florida city to lead its police force.<\/p>\n
Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez is a lead contender to replace Morales, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
Miami District 4 Commissioner Ralph Rosado confirmed that Lopez was in the running.<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing in a new Chief in Edwin Lopez gives us the opportunity to turn the page on years of costly lawsuits as well as serious allegations of discrimination<\/a> and retaliation from within the ranks of the Miami Police Department,\u201d Rosado said in a statement to the Miami Herald on Thursday.<\/p>\n City Manager James Reyes, who is tasked with picking the police chief, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lopez declined to comment.<\/p>\n Reyes referred to Lopez as \u201can exceptional leader and a dedicated public servant\u201d in a social media post celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in 2024.<\/p>\n Morales was named police chief under the previous administration led by former Mayor Francis Suarez and former City Manager Art Noriega. He took the helm<\/a> in 2021 after the tumultuous firing of Police Chief Art Acevedo, who is embroiled in a federal lawsuit against the city. Morales earns $350,000 a year in compensation and is set to retire in October.<\/p>\n Rosado publicly clashed<\/a> with Morales earlier this year, accusing him at a City Commission meeting of vying to replace Rosado as the District 4 commissioner in the next election cycle and campaigning on the job in his capacity as chief. At the time, Rosado called for Morales\u2019 removal, but none of his four colleagues on the Miami City Commission backed him.<\/p>\n In his statement, Rosado criticized the current police department\u2019s leadership, which he said \u201chas failed to properly support its officers and facilities \u2014 including a run-down police headquarters<\/a>, of which a large portion has been deemed unsafe.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to Rosado\u2019s statement, Morales on Thursday touted historic reductions in violent crime<\/a> during his tenure \u201cwhile strengthening accountability, transparency, officer wellness, and community trust.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the recent rhetoric appears politically motivated and does not reflect the full picture of the progress we\u2019ve made. We take all concerns seriously, investigate them thoroughly, and remain committed to continuous improvement,\u201d Morales said. \u201cI stand firmly behind this department and the work our officers do every day to keep Miami safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he had a position on Lopez as a potential successor, Morales said: \u201cOnly the [City] Manager can address that topic.\u201d<\/p>\n Rumors of Lopez\u2019s potential appointment made the rounds Wednesday when a screenshot of a fake Miami Herald article announcing him as the next Miami police chief was circulated among the local law enforcement community. The origin of the fake article \u2014 which included a photo of Lopez and referred to him as a \u201cveteran law enforcement leader\u201d \u2014 is unclear.<\/p>\n With more than 28 years of law enforcement experience, including nine years as chief across two departments, Edwin Lopez, a former physical education teacher, is head of the Doral Police Department and a leading contender to be chief of the Miami Police Department.<\/p>\n Lopez rose through the ranks in South Florida, spending more than 25 years with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department \u2014 including as chief during his final four years there \u2014 before taking over in Doral in 2023.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Political turbulence in Doral: Departures and conflicts shake police department<\/a><\/p>\n Lopez, 45, was named chief of the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department in the aftermath of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which killed 17 students and staff, according to the Miami Laker<\/a> digital newspaper. At the time, he was serving as deputy chief. Lopez was the first Hispanic to hold the position of chief.<\/p>\n Before his appointment as chief of the schools\u2019 police department, Lopez had spent more than 22 years within the department, rising through the ranks. He also previously worked as a detached investigator for the Miami-Dade County State Attorney\u2019s Office gang strike force.<\/p>\n Lopez\u2019s employment contract with the city of Doral set his base salary at $199,000, with eligibility for annual cost-of-living increases and up to 10% merit raises, along with a city-issued unmarked vehicle.<\/p>\n As Doral police chief, Lopez oversees a department of more than 203 employees, including 155 sworn officers, operating with a budget of over $41 million in a city of roughly 82,000 residents.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.\n <\/p>\n A screenshot of a fake Miami Herald article that circulated Wednesday. The purported author, a former Herald reporter, publicly stated that she did not write or create it, adding that, \u201cThis is how misinformation spreads.\u201d Who is Edwin Lopez?<\/p>\n
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