Opa Locka: same sh*t, different day

The tiny, crime and corruption-plagued city of Opa-Locka got a new police chief Wednesday.

At an outdoor press conference at city hall, outgoing police chief Cheryl Cason introduced her successor, former North Miami police commander Jeffrey Key.

Key is the city's 13th police chief in 20 years.

Key wasted no time in announcing that his top priority was to "reduce crime" in the 4.1 square-mile municipality.

But as he spoke those words, according to the Miami Herald's Julie Brown, "thieves were smashing car windows about half a football field away, directly in front of city hall. No one, including the chief, noticed the crime as it was taking place. Two Miami Herald reporters discovered the break-ins to their cars after the news conference had ended."

Brand-new Opa-Locka Police Chief Jeffrey Key has some advice
for anyone visiting City Hall.
(Click here to enlarge.)

It's an understatement to say that Opa-Locka is in deep doo-doo.

From the Herald:

Key replaces Cheryl Cason, who recently retired. Cason, her arms locked with Key during the public announcement, said she was proud to pass her baton to Key, whom she encouraged to go into law enforcement more than 20 years ago.

Cason, hired in 1984, has had her tenure with the force marred by two failed drug tests and more than 22 disciplinary charges before she was named chief.

Key thanked the mayor, city commissioners and city manager, saying that he was honored to walk in Cason’s footsteps....

Put another way, Opa-Locka's new police chief told the media and his bosses that he's "honored to walk in the footsteps" of one of the most corrupt and inept police chiefs to ever serve in South Florida.

Something tells me that Jeff Key's administration probably won't be all that different from that of Cheryl Cason's.

Stay tuned. 

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Dec. 2011: Sarasota Herald Tribune finds the state's dirtiest cop right here in South Florida