CBS4 Exclusive: Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez talks about priorities
DORAL - In his first interview since returning as Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, Freddy Ramirez speaks with CBS4 about his priorities and goals looking ahead.
"It is who I am," he said in an exclusive interview with CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "I have never felt like I have been somewhere. This is my identity. This uniform, this department, my police family, my community."
The 51-year-old Ramirez, who has been with Miami-Dade Police since 1995, had been Miami-Dade Police Director for two years until February when he became the county's chief public safety officer and George Perez became Interim Police Director.
Last week, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that Ramirez would return to his old job. Perez was moved to a senior position in Miami-Dade Corrections which is under a federal court order regarding its jails.
Ramirez will not only be responsible for supervising his 4,200 officers and civilian employees but will also oversee the more than 2,800 employees in MIami-Dade Fire Rescue.
Ramirez was asked about his priorities.
"The safety of my officers, the safety of the community and the trust that we have built over the years in this community and making sure we keep that trust and working together to protect our children. As interim chief, it was my pleasure to learn a lot about FIre Rescue. I saw their heroics and what they did at Surfside. They were amazing."
There are challenges. The F.B.I. said the clearance rate for homicides in all departments in Miami-Dade and Broward was below the national rate of 52 percent.
Ramirez said "A lot of cases are circumstantial cases where we rely on witnesses to come forward. The bar is very high for what we need to prosecute these cases. That's why it's very important for the community to trust us."
"That is the top priority in solving these cases because people will not come forward if they don't feel safe and they don't feel protected and if they don't feel they can trust the police."
"Unfortunately, criminals like to take advantage of people when they are the most vulnerable. We need to work on our collaboration with the community so everyone feels safe to come forward and give us those critical tips for Crime Stoppers, so we can solve these cases and come together to help families find perpetrators who prey on adults and children in our community."
There will be some changes: Mental health professionals instead of police officers will be sent to non-violent emergencies.
Ramirez said, "That is very important for the evolution of public safety and part of that evolution is how we treat our community. Clearly, we have a mental health crisis in this country, as well as, this community and we need to think outside the box and bring in partners for our collaboration."
In 2024, Miami-Dade will have its first-elected Sheriff since 1966, when that position was eliminated because of corruption.
D'Oench asked Ramirez if he would be running for Sheriff. He said his goal right now was to focus on his priorities.
"All of us are moving forward in one direction towards making a better home for our children and shining as we do in this country to other cities and being an example," he said.
