NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - North Miami’s police chief claimed the department gave him an ultimatum to resign or be fired, and now he wants to sue.
North Miami Police Chief Gary Eugene said he was given a choice to either resign or be fired from the department by July 7.
“I like to be able to look at myself in the mirror every night, every morning to stand up for the right thing,” he said. “It is the saddest part of the whole incident, is to find out that my daughter after reading everything they were saying about me, she spent her night crying in her bedroom.”
Eugene’s daughter, Gerthy, said the whole incident is upsetting. “It just hurts,” she said. “It hurts to see him being targeted. It hurts to see him being used as a scapegoat.”
In July 2016, Eugene was sworn in as North Miami police chief. Six days later, one of his officers, Jonathan Aledda, shot unarmed behavioral therapist Charles Kinsey on July 18.
Last week, Eugene was on medical leave and on the day prior to his return, North Miami Police Cmdr. Emile Hollant who, was on the scene of the shooting, was fired. Hollant was cleared by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office after some within the department said he gave conflicting statements about witnessing the shooting.
“If he’s guilty, I would be the first one to chop his head,” Eugene said, “but there was no proof that he lied.”
When Eugene returned to work, he was given the ultimatum and believes it is because he supported Hollant.
“I will not allow anyone to try to destroy my reputation,” he said.
Eugene hired an attorney to sue the department for wrongful termination.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Attorney Brian Pollock. “We’re looking into a couple theories as to whether Chief Eugene was retaliated against for complaining about this and blowing the whistle on not following the rules or whether this was racially motivated because the only two officers who have been disciplined by the department were Haitian-Americans.”
Wednesday was the first time Eugene spoke on camera since he was given the ultimatum.
A community meeting is set to take place Wednesday around 6 p.m. in North Miami to discuss the police department ordeal.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.