Yesterday's suspension of Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito is certainly a Miami political saga for the ages, and in the grand tradition of 305 political saga we should only expect bitterness and some last minute lawsuits. Exposito has now filed suit against two city commissioner -- Wifredo "Willy" Gort and Francis Suarez. He claims that because the two have already expressed their opinion they should be barred from the meeting that will ultimately decide his fate.
Exposito was suspended by City Manager Johnny Martinez yesterday, and he has five days to bring his case before the city commission. They will ultimately decide whether the chief.
Now Exposito claims that Gort and Suarez's previously expressed opinions should disqualify them from the meeting. They also happen to be the two commissioners most likely to give him the boot. Gort wrote a letter earlier this year to then-Manager Tony Crapp Jr. calling for Exposito's ouster. Exposito also claims that Suarez has made comments to the press about the case.
"It's got to make residents wonder, if these people are spending so much time fighting each other, how much time are they spending dealing with complicated issues?" Francis Suarez told The Wall Street Journal in an article yesterday.
Meanwhile, Frank Carollo and Marc Sarnoff have questioned the political timing of Suarez's suspension. While newly exonerated commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones has not commented on the case.
The suit will go before a judge bright and early tomorrow morning.
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