Remove Yesid Ortiz From Florida International University Police Department Following the Alleged Scandals Of His Past.

"On July 1, the Florida International University Police Department announced its hiring of longtime South Florida officer Yesid Ortiz.

While serving as a patrol officer on the MPD's force, Ortiz was sued in 2016 over an allegedly false arrest of a military veteran. He later received a reprimand for his purported connection to a pirate towing scheme, which prompted his resignation in May 2017.

As New Times previously reported, Ortiz and another officer, Reynaldo Irias, were accused of roughing up and arresting a Gulf War veteran without reasonable cause in July of 2015. In a federal lawsuit, Mario Javier Cordoba claimed he'd been standing outside his apartment building when the two officers approached and accused him of recording their interaction with a local fruit vendor. Cordoba said that after he refused to answer the officers' questions, they grabbed him, put him in handcuffs and arrested him on a charge of resisting law enforcement. The charge was later dismissed by a county court judge.

The City of Miami reportedly paid $79,000 to settle Cordoba's lawsuit in 2017. New Times was unable to determine whether the arrest and lawsuit resulted in a reprimand or other discipline.

Ortiz's professional conduct came under further scrutiny when the FBI initiated a probe into illegal towing schemes in the Miami area that involved public employees.

In April 2017, an MPD internal affairs investigation sparked by the FBI probe found that Ortiz and Irias had engaged in misconduct by giving special towing privileges to a 'pirate' tow truck driver, Armando Morales. The two officers routinely communicated with Morales about roadway accidents and allowed him to show up and solicit customers at crash scenes, thereby circumventing the city's rotating system for assigning tow companies.

The FBI charged other Miami-area law enforcement personnel with bribery for allegedly accepting kickbacks from pirate tow truck drivers in similar schemes. But the internal affairs investigation didn't turn up evidence that Ortiz or Irias financially benefited from their interactions with Morales, and neither officer was implicated in the criminal cases. Instead, the two received reprimands and turned in their badges in May 2017.

After the university revealed that Ortiz was joining the ranks of its police department, questions arose around campus about the hiring process and whether Ortiz's familial connections prompted FIU to look the other way regarding Ortiz's history with the Miami Police Department (MPD).

An anonymous source with close ties to the university, who provided details of its employment process, tells New Times Ortiz’s hiring 'should not have happened.'

'[Other candidates] would have been disqualified based upon that history,' says the source, who declined to reveal his identity for fear of repercussions for speaking out. 'There have been other officers who were denied a job for far less.'

The FIU Police Department declined to comment on the specifics of Ortiz's hiring but said in a statement that all applicants 'undergo a rigorous background process in order to be hired, with no exception.' " -source

He should now end his career by resigning as an Officer for the Florida International University Police Department for failing to uphold his oath in the past. By stepping down today as quick as he was to arrest our Military Veterans for filming, Yesid Ortiz and FIU could signal to the community that standards still exist. By continuing to employ Yised Ortiz, FIU demonstrates a careless demeanor towards the community and a disregard for the safty and well being of students on campus. Does FIU support corrupt cops? Mr.Ortiz has no respect for our tax payers and for our military veterans who served.

Yesid Ortiz decisions and actions show he is unfit for the position at Florida International University Police Department and should be relieved of his position. This raises the question, should Mr.Ortiz serve in any type of law enforcement position for the public with his lack of judgement? If Mr.Ortiz is willing to risk his career for illegal pirate towing schemes and arresting veterans for filming, what else is he willing to risk?

If you'd like to contact the Florida International University Police Department to voice your opinion, here is the contact page on their website: https://police.fiu.edu/contact-us/

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