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On Monday, November 29th, the City of Aventura swore in its fourth Chief of Police. Michael Bentolila joined the Aventura Police Department in 1997 soon after it was founded. In the time since, he has risen through the ranks, working in each of the department’s divisions and now becoming the city’s new Chief of Police. Bentolila succeeds Bryan Pegues, who took on his new role as Aventura’s Deputy City Manager at the same time as Bentolila began his tenure as chief.
With local police leadership from cities across Miami-Dade County joining Aventura’s elected officials and community leaders, Chief Bentolila was sworn in by Mayor Enid Weisman with his wife, Adrienne, and daughters Shoshana and Emma at his side. Mayor Weisman celebrated the win-win of having Bentolila as the city’s Chief of Police and Pegues moving into his new role as Assistant City Manager. Rabbi Jonathan Berkun from Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center gave the invocation and shared his support for Bentolila, a member of his synagogue, being chosen to lead the city’s police department.
In his remarks, Bentolila emphasized the importance of the department maintaining and strengthening relationships with the community, quoting Albert Einstein, saying, “peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.” As he closed his remarks, he reminded the crowd of law enforcement officers of the nobility of policing and the responsibility that comes with it, saying, “The badge we wear is just a few inches of metal. It weighs just a few ounces. But it comes with a heavy responsibility for those who choose to wear it. To everyone who wears the badge, and especially to the members of the Aventura Police Department – wear it with pride. Treat it with respect. Know that the nobility that comes with your careers as law enforcement officers is both your honor to carry and your responsibility to protect.”
