Civilian Oversight of Miami-Dade Police Dealt Second Major Blow with Barton Reversal

Already reeling from the prospect of becoming powerless after Miami-Dade residents vote for an elected sheriff, the police oversight veteran tapped to lead the recently formed Miami-Dade Investigative Civilian Panel (ICP) won’t be coming to South Florida.

In a stunning setback, ICP Chairwoman Loreal Arscott and her colleagues revealed at their April 25 meeting that Nicolle Barton changed her mind and decided not to accept the job as the panel’s executive director after she was confirmed by the Miami-Dade County Commission in March. As a result, the ICP has to restart its search for a top administrator who will be in charge of determining what cases of police misconduct the panel will investigate.

“We are just disappointed at the sequence of events,” Arscott said at the meeting. “Nonetheless, we soldier on. We put all our eggs in this basket of finding an executive director. We spent a lot of time and energy in the process to be basically back at square one.” 

According to panel members, Barton changed her mind about leaving her home state of Missouri, where she is the consent decree coordinator for the city of Ferguson. Her job is to make sure Ferguson’s police department implemented reforms that addressed a Justice Department investigation that found a litany of discriminatory practices within the police force. She was also put in charge of Ferguson’s civilian police oversight board, working out of an office next door to the police chief, according to local media reports.

Barton, considered a superstar in her field, was also hesitant to lead the Miami-Dade ICP amid concerns the panel could become a toothless agency should an elected sheriff take over the county’s police functions in 2025. A constitutional amendment approved in 2018 mandates Miami-Dade voters elect a sheriff in 2024, panel members said.

A search committee made of three ICP members picked Barton as the top candidate from a list of five candidates after a five-month job advertisement process that yielded 40 applicants. In February, the full ICP board voted to recommend Barton to the county commission.

Eddie Dominguez, one of the panel members who sat on the search committee, said he was “horribly disappointed” by the turn of events. “To get to this point is beyond frustrating,” Dominguez said. “We need a plan B. I think we have a responsibility to get going.”

The panel’s plan B could involve Christina Beamud, the executive director for the city of Miami Civilian Investigative Panel. The ICP voted to recommend that Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava’s office consider negotiating a consultant’s agreement with Beamud to work with the panel on an interim basis during the new search for an executive director. Beamud is set to retire from her Miami job in the coming weeks.

Arscott said Beamud would assist the ICP in drafting an amendment to Miami-Dade’s home rule charter to guarantee the panel is annually funded, as well as an amendment creating the panel. The ICP needs to complete its proposed charter amendment and present it to the county commission by June or July in order for the measure to be placed on the ballot for this year’s midterm election, Arscott said. Beamud would also work with panel members on crafting its policies and procedures and setting up the ICP’s administrative functions.

Arscott also wants the ICP to pursue agreements with Miami-Dade municipalities that don’t have a civilian police oversight board. As of now, only Miami and North Miami Beach have citizen panels. “What we can do right now is to shore up our foundation and get certain municipalities to buy into our work as a panel,” Arscott said. “We have a wealth of options to lean on.”