He followed up with an email. Fort Lauderdale officials have indicated the city could rescind promotions made on Scirottos watch. That sense of urgency is not lost on Lagerbloom, who met with the union last week to give them an update on the search. Ron DeSantis was doing some of the recruitment himself on Monday. He plans to stay onboard for awhile to help with the transition, Lagerbloom said. Its too important., Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554 or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan. With Dietrich out as interim chief, Lagerbloom turned to former Davie Police Chief Patrick Lynn to oversee the agency while the national search was under way. Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Home Home News Sitemap Contact Us Employee Recognition-Complaint Hotline 954-828-6956 RSS Home About FLPD News Community Solve Crimes Employment FAQs Help Us Find Sophie Reeder Click for details on her case and to see how you can help. City Manager Chris Lagerbloom, who embarked on two. A city of Fort Lauderdale news release said the chief, Larry Scirotto, 48, was fired by City Manager Chris Lagerbloom on Thursday. FLPD Seeks to Identify Man Captured on Video Near Homicide Scene, Employee Recognition-Complaint Hotline 954-828-6956. Previous chief Rick Maglione was reassigned in July 2020. Now, he is in the running to take the top cop job, down south.The city of Fort Lauderdale sent WESH 2 News a list of semi-finalists for its police chief position and Rolon is in the running . Officer Shortage Has LAPD Asking Retirees to Come Back. Larry Scirotto, a former assistant chief from Pittsburgh, will be taking the helm on Aug. 16. (City of Fort Lauderdale/Courtesy). 10:25 PM EST, Sat March 5, 2022. I reached out and asked if hed be willing to come out of retirement, and thankfully, he said yes. He came in as the department was dealing with backlash from incidents during protests after George Floyds murder in Minneapolis. Sheriff Thorntonposted a photo on Facebook of at least 17 unused patrol cars. The first round of applications did not measure up to the expectations of the city manager, Trantalis said. Soon after being hired, Scirotto promoted 15 officers nine were white men, six were minorities through ethnicity or gender. The other five are Dennis Jackson II, retired assistant chief for the Miami Police Department; Heather Morris, assistant chief for the Houston Police Department; Larry Scirotto, retired assistant chief for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police; and Kristen Ziman, chief of the Aurora (Ill.) Police Department. Starting Monday, April 4, Patrick Lynn will take over the department, announced Fort Lauderdale City Manager Chris Lagerbloom. And were talking in conversation as it relates to our community and the expectation of a diverse and inclusive organization. A list of eight semifinalists. What would the optics have been on that?. Police Chief Jorge Colina will walk out of the downtown Miami police headquarters for the final time on Friday. (Photo courtesy of City of Fort Lauderdale), its handling of downtown protests on May 31 and the aftermath. Some believed it was about time changes were made, but stated if promotions were based on things such as race it would even hurt or undermine the people promoted, the report said. When sworn in as chief, Roln said he would prioritize officer wellbeing and pursue de-escalation and mass-casualty incident training for officers. Among reforms Scirotto planned was to create a multi-cultural liaison unit to expand officers roles as liaisons to key groups that have traditionally been marginalized and undeserved. In February, Dietrich announced she planned to step down from the role. Again, I go back to the fact that we support a very diverse organization," Lagerbloom said. Damned if you do, damned if you dont. Atlanta-Area Agency Facing Critical Officer Shortage. Fort Lauderdales new chief happens to be a fitness enthusiast and collegiate basketball referee. He comes to us at an important moment in law enforcement as departments nationwide work to ensure community trust and that everyone is treated equally and fairly in interactions with officers, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said in a tweet. In Fort Lauderdale, he beat out dozens of applicants including three internal candidates to step into the role of chief, a job that comes with a $200,000 salary and a $140 million budget . Lagerbloom, charged with hiring the citys new top cop, also wants to name a new interim chief to level the playing field. Former Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Larry Scirotto is seen in this file photo from the Fort Lauderdale Police Dept. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our. [RELATED: Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione removed as officers face scrutiny over protest brutality]. That means Karen Dietrichs days as interim chief are numbered. Lynn has been in law enforcement for 35 years beginning as began as a patrol officer with the City of Pembroke Pines Police Department in 1982. The agency is down nearly 30 deputies. Scirotto told CNN he promoted 15 people from August to November, and of that group, six were ethnic or gender minorities selected for promotions based on their merit. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department offers one of the highest starting salaries in Florida ($67,620.80-$104,395.20) and a great retirement structure, great health benefits and a slew of other incentives such as paid time off and department-issued uniforms and equipment. The list of semi-finalists represented a lot of talent both within and outside the department, Mayor Dean Trantalis said. Larry Scirotto is sworn in as the new chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department by Chief Judge Jack Tuter on 24 August 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He came from a department that shared the most information on data and statistics.. If you want to take an organization somewhere, sometimes you have to look to the outside.. Share & Bookmark, Press Enter to show all options, press Tab go to next option, Employee Recognition-Complaint Hotline 954-828-6956. But Scirotto warned that minority groups are now being treated as less than deserving. I want them to be competent and experienced and open minded and sensitive to the diversity of our community.. Receive the latest law enforcement in-depth information, news and products. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Fort Lauderdale has named its new Chief of Police. Documents obtained from city officials by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel earlier this month show three internal candidates under consideration for police chief and five police officials from across Florida and the nation. After a year of uncertainty, putting this behind us and being able to move forward is going to be a positive for everybody on the police department, Diaz said. . Ali Adamson, spokesperson for the Office of the Chief at FLPD, directed questions to the City of Fort Lauderdale, which did not respond to multiple requests Thursday. Mission Statement Larry Scirotto is expected to join the department in mid-August, City Manager Chris Lagerbloom announced Tuesday. "We serve a very diverse community and thats important. Scirotto said he has obtained legal counsel and is planning on filing a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city. Four who were not selected for promotion three men and one woman filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Days after he was fired, the former police chief for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department is strongly denying allegations that he promoted officers based on their race, gender and sexual orientation. Top 10 Police Chief CandidatesSelect the candidates name to see their resume. I see it as him taking the time to make sure the right person gets hired. Lagerbloom also chose Scirotto the youngest assistant chief in the history of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for his extensive background in patrol work and experience with investigative and administrative assignments. The investigation also concluded almost every witness was dissatisfied, with Scirottos approach to promotions, and most believed that Chief Scirotto made clear his intention to promote based on race, gender or sexual orientation.. RELATED: Pop his ass. Bodycam videos show protesters throwing things at police. Bill Schultz. It doesnt need fixing. City Manager Chris Lagerbloom has announced former Pittsburgh Assistant Chief Larry Scirotto as the sole finalist for Chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. The job pays between $116,047 and $197,300 a year. The Commission said the measure was being taken in a step to increase diversity in the department. More , Click for details and safety tips. I have to be that visible leader, leading from the front, leading by example.. Michelle Solomon, Podcast Producer/Reporter. Lagerbloom now has a new plan: appoint a new interim chief from outside the department who is not interested in the job. And how do I purport we have that when the entire bottom row are white men? Scirotto told WFOR. As I see it, this is a fresh start for everybody, including the internal leadership team, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. As a leader, I will be visible and engaged with the community and the officers. Larry Scirotto, 48, the son of a white mother and Black father and the departments first openly gay chief, was fired last Thursday after a city report related examples such as how he had once pointed to a display of photos of the departments command staff in a conference room and said: That wall is too white and Im gonna change that.. RELATED: Fort Lauderdales interim police chief vows to reform troubled department, RELATED: Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione removed as officers face scrutiny over protest brutality. The Media Relations Unit, Staff Inspections/ Accreditation Unit, and the Office of Internal Affairs are the three main components of the Office of the Chief. Scirottos supporters expressed disappointment, saying the chief was heading towards positive changes for the department. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much But retirement didnt last for long. Lagerbloom made his pick from a list of eight semi-finalists that included three internal candidates: Fort Lauderdales Assistant Chief Frank Sousa, Maj. Dana Swisher and Capt. After a summer of searching, Key Biscayne's village manager has tapped Fort Lauderdale interim Assistant Police Chief Francis "Frank" Sousa to lead the . Please enable JavaScript in your browser for a better user experience. He turns 63 in October of this year the mandatory retirement age for Chicago police officers. Our officers deserve some stability, which theyre finally going to get., Larry Scirotto, a former assistant police chief in Pittsburgh, has been tapped to lead the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Four officers three white and one Hispanic filed EEOC complaints alleging that the chief was promoting unfairly. None of them were promoted because they were in a protected class, he said. Get updates on developing stories as they happen with our free breaking news email alerts. I support his decision. Karen Dietrich is stepping down as interim chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department after six months in the role, effectively taking herself out of the running to be the agency's top cop. Chief Lynn was a stabilizing figure last year during a period of transition for this department, Lagerbloom said. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown is resigning effective March 16, Lightfoot said in a statement. Scirotto, 48, will make $200,000 a year overseeing the agencys 530 sworn officers and 179 civilians. In response to calls for racial justice and police reform over the past year, Roln helped usher in changes at OPD, including banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants, starting a pilot program to send mental health professionals to certain calls and initiating outside reviews of the agency by police consultants to assist with community engagement. OPD referred further questions to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. News that a chief has finally been chosen was a relief to Fort Lauderdales police officers, said Detective Brandon Diaz, union president. This past year, he was chosen to be one of the referees to officiate in the mens NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis. Lagerbloom said it is a return to the department for Lynn, who served as Interim Chief in 2021. Scirotto was sworn-in as police chief in mid-August, and the city had hired a law firm by November to investigate complaints of discrimination before he was fired on Thursday, according to a copy of the law firms report obtained by CNN. Lagerbloom has not said just what prompted the move, but Maglione posted a public statement on July 4 defending the actions his officers took during a May 31 protest over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Minutes later Sheriff Mike Chitwood responded that he was OK and explained what happened. Interviewed by officials, Scirotto denied asking which candidate was blacker when deciding on the promotion, but admitted to making comments about the wall of staff photos being too white because, he felt, it did not reflect the ethnically diverse community the police department serves. The City of Fort Lauderdale is an Equal Opportunity Employer.-, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, 1300 W Broward Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 | Tel: 954-828-5700 | Internal Affairs: 954-828-6956 |Site Map, 2023 Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Created by Vision Internet Innovators of Online Government. Provide a safe and orderly environment in our city through professionalism, dedication, an active partnership with the community and concern for individual dignity.