The City of Miami is facing a whistleblower lawsuit recently filed by two police officers who claim they were retaliated and discriminated against for exposing corruption and wrongdoing allegedly committed by the current police chief.
Lieutenant Brandon Lanier and Officer Wanda Jean-Baptiste began speaking out about these accusations almost a year ago, stemming from their time working in the Miami Police Department's Internal Affairs Department.
According to their attorney, Michael Pizzi, the officers reported corruption and refused to go along with attempts to improperly interfere with IA investigations.
(City of Miami)
The complaints allege that the two officers were demoted and disciplined for blowing the whistle on Chief Manuel Morales, who they claim was trying to control the outcome of Internal Affairs investigations.
Pizzi asserted that Morales' decision to remove Lanier and Baptiste from Internal Affairs sends a message that he wants IA to be his lackeys and stooges to target the people he desires.
At a recent whistleblower hearing before the city's Civil Service Board, Morales denied any corruption or racism and accused the officers of violating department policy and officers' rights.
At an April 6 news conference, Pizzi produced a reprimand for then-Assistant Chief Morales, which he called the "smoking gun," and claimed that Lanier and Baptiste recommended it while they were in IA. The reprimand of Morales displayed for NBC6 cameras was for not properly supervising Commander Ronald Papier following a crash in a police vehicle that was not properly reported.
The City of Miami's legal department issued a statement in response to NBC6, stating that officers Jean-Baptiste and Lieutenant Lanier had filed a case against the City because they were unhappy with the City's decision to discipline them after learning that both officers had improperly deprived another officer of his statutory rights under Florida law.
The statement further added that the City was confident that the officers would fail to prove any wrongdoing, much like their previous meritless challenges. The Miami Police Department did not provide any comment on the matter.