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Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava recently announced updates to the public safety leadership overseeing the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR), Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR) and Medical Examiner.
The leadership changes are as follows, effective Monday, July 11:
Alfredo Ramirez III, interim Chief Public Safety Officer, will resume his role as director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, and take on a new expanded role as Chief of Safety and Emergency Response, responsible for oversight of both MDPD and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
Ramirez has dedicated the past 27 years to law enforcement after joining MDPD in 1995, and was promoted through all civil service ranks, attaining the position of director in January 2020. Over the past two years, Ramirez led the agency with excellent results in gun violence prevention, homicide reduction, and building community trust and partnership. Since February 2022, Ramirez has served as interim Chief Public Safety Officer overseeing MDPD, MDFR and the Medical Examiner.
JD Patterson will take on a new role as Chief of Corrections and Forensics, responsible for oversight of the Corrections and Rehabilitation Department and the Medical Examiner.
Patterson joined the mayor’s administration as the county’s first Chief Public Safety Officer, after serving previously as Miami-Dade Police Department director from 2013 to 2016 and, most recently, as Assistant Police Chief for the City of Miami Gardens.
He has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Since February, Patterson has served on special assignment overseeing MDCR, bringing his extensive experience in public safety to advance critical reforms to the county’s correctional facilities.
George A. Perez, who has served since February as the interim director of Miami-Dade Police Department, will take on a special assignment as assistant director, overseeing police operations in the Corrections Department. He will work closely with Chief Patterson to ensure transparency and accountability within corrections.
“Over the past two years, Miami-Dade has weathered unprecedented challenges from COVID to the tragedy in Surfside, thanks in large part to the dedication and sacrifice of our first responders, and men and women in uniform,” Mayor Levine Cava said. “I’m grateful to Chief Patterson, Chief Ramirez and interim Police Director George Perez for their committed leadership as we work together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our communities.”
“The men and women of our public safety teams in Miami-Dade County are some of the finest in the country,” said Chief Ramirez. “It’s been a privilege to lead public safety teams including fire, police, emergency operations, and the medical examiner over the last several months as interim Chief Public Safety Officer, and I am excited to continue deepening the relationship between our fire and police departments to provide excellent and efficient public safety services to residents and visitors.”
“Miami-Dade County is committed to delivering a high standard of services in all our departments including Corrections,” Chief Patterson said. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done to build an even more responsive Corrections department and look forward to continuing to build on this progress in a new role as Chief of Corrections and Forensics.”
