August 3, 2021
Maj. Keandra Simmons, a 16-year-old Miami City Police Department veteran, has been demoted – and she or he is seeking whistleblower protection.
Simmons ‘attorney Michael Pizzi, the knowledgeable Miami police chief, Art Acevedo, the mayor, metropolitan lawyer and city overseer late Sunday of Simmons’ intent in filing complaints related to their inexplicable demotion.
Pizzi also reported on his plan to advance a lawsuit on behalf of Simmons “based on injuries caused by defamation, racial and gender discrimination, harassment, deprivation of the First Amendment and due process.”
Simmons was Miami’s second highest-ranking female police officer in black; once Liberty City was commanded; and was one of the first black female public data officers in many metropolitan areas. She recently oversaw the Miami Police security room and its fleet.
She and three others had been demoted by Acevedo late last week. Simmon’s salary fell and her rank returned to a lieutenant in disciplinary operations.
A memo sent to senior officials last Friday said Acevedo is determined to make the adjustments after speaking to every worker and member of the neighborhood.
Simmons believes she was focused because she didn’t help the city’s senior couple, former deputy boss Ron Papier and his wife Cmdr. Nerly paper.
Pizzi said Simmons believes she was demoted for testimony she gave as a witness when questioned about the paper’s dismissal in June and refused to endorse the boss’s findings.
Nerly Paper blew up two tires and hit a curb with her city car. Her husband appeared as interim boss at the time and the accident occurred three days before Acevedo was sworn in.
In a letter to the city, Pizzi said that Simmons was aiming not only for damages but also for an immediate reinstatement in her previous rank as captain.
In addition to letting the city know of a future lawsuit, filing as a whistleblower provides the city with an opportunity to correct an alleged unsuitable and is designed to protect Simmons from retaliation.
Your demotion took effect on Sunday.
The Miami Times has been the largest black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami’s black neighborhood since 1923. The award-winning weekly is recognized by the National Newspaper Publishers Association as the most effective black newspaper in the country.
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