Even though Miami’s most divisive officer is getting his badge back, he won’t be back on the beat and has already set a retirement date.
Embattled former union head and longstanding firebrand Capt. Javier Ortiz, notorious for racist social media rants and claims of excessive force, has been reinstated almost seven months after being sacked by Police Chief Manny Morales.
According to a settlement agreement acquired by the Miami Herald, Ortiz has returned to a desk job pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
The president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, Steadman Stahl, said that the union has settled all outstanding issues with the city of Miami over Captain Javier Ortiz’s employment.
The agreement was reached because “both parties believe that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the city of Miami and Captain Ortiz.”
Ortiz will get back pay for several months, but he will be placed in an administrative position reporting directly to Morales, where he will not be given a firearm or a personal vehicle and will be subject to tight limitations on his use of police powers.
In the case of someone using or threatening lethal action, he will only use his police power if he reasonably feels he must act to avoid immediate death or grave bodily injury to himself or another, as stated in the settlement.
Another catch: he can only do the desk job at night.
Ortiz and Miami city manager Art Noriega struck an agreement on Tuesday that calls for Ortiz to step down on November 7, 2025. Oritz has decided to return to his former status as captain, and he will no longer work off-duty hours or overtime. As part of the deal, he will terminate any legal action taken against the city.
Art Noriega, the city manager of Miami, has declined to discuss the compromise.
In September, Morales terminated Ortiz’s employment due to a “pattern of behavior and his failure to maintain a good moral character.” Ortiz’s lawyer stated that his client had been disciplined for failing to accurately record his time spent away from the office. Ortiz argued against his dismissal.
Ortiz’s lawsuit was scheduled to go to arbitration in two months, so the settlement this week comes just in time. It would not have been unexpected for Ortiz to be reinstated to his previous position, according to sources versed in police disciplinary procedures.
The city agreed to withdraw its earlier reprimand and issue a new one for procedural irregularities as part of the settlement.
Former police union chief and 18-year veteran Ortiz was often featured in the media. The “one-drop rule,” an ancient racist myth that said everyone with any degree of Black heritage was Black, was the basis for his public proclamation that he was Black in 2020. A week later, he was taken out of commission for disciplinary reasons.
Ortiz was the subject of a two-year investigation by state and federal officials for alleged wrongdoing. There were no indictments filed by April 2021, but the inquiry did bring to light “a pattern of abuse and bias against minorities, particularly African-Americans.”
According to the findings of the investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, former SWAT commander Ortiz made multiple questionable arrests that cost the state and the federal government hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal settlements and other costs.
Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old who was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer in 2015 for playing with a toy pistol, was referred to as a “thug” in a social media post he made that year.
Officer Ortiz was implicated in the 2013 summer beating of a Frenchman named Francois Alexandre, who was in Miami to celebrate the NBA title won by the Miami Heat.
A federal appeals court ruled that Ortiz had “qualified immunity” when he subdued Alexandre, thus he wasn’t held responsible for the damaged eye socket that resulted from the incident.
