Manuel Orosa has been named the new Chief of Miami Police.
Orosa now officially inherits a department currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for seven fatal police-involved shootings in a six-month stretch of last year.
Since taking over as acting chief when Miguel Exposito was suspended in early September, Orosa has already made some changes including pulling back on aggressive undercover operations and putting more uniformed cops on local beats. It's still to be seen whether he can change the "systemic deficiencies" federal prosecutors suspect.
City Manager Johhny Martinez announced Orosa's promotion just after noon via email.
A short bio included in the email notes that Orosa is a 31-year veteran of MPD:
As commander of Criminal Investigations Section, he played a significant role in major cases including, police shootings, serial rapist, serial robberies and in the successful resolution of the murder of a police officer. He has coordinated the department's involvement in the highly-viewed television series, The First 48, which highlights Miami homicide detectives. He also played a role in major events such as the Free Trade Areas of the Americas Conference, the Hemisphere Police Chief's Conference, and all major hurricanes that threatened the city since 2005.
Occupy Miami members and other progressives likely won't be pleased with Orosa's links to the 2003 crackdown on FTAA protesters.
But hey, he can't be any worse than Exposito... right?
