Miami-Dade mayor names interim top cops a day after police director shot himself near Tampa

A day after Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez shot himself following a dispute in Tampa, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has appointed two officials who will remain in the posts “until further notice.”

READ MORE: Miami-Dade police chief shot himself in the head after fight with wife at Tampa hotel

Levine Cava on Monday evening named Stephanie V. Daniels as interim director for the Miami-Dade Police Department and JD Patterson as interim chief of public safety.

Ramirez, who holds both job titles, is in stable condition after shooting himself on the side of a Florida highway late Sunday night following a dispute that forced his departure from a Tampa hotel where he was attending a law enforcement convention with his wife, according to multiple police sources and reports.

READ MORE: Things to know about Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Ramirez, Miami-Dade police and candidate for sheriff

The 52-year-old is a Democratic candidate for sheriff in the 2024 election.

“All that matters right now is Chief Ramirez’s well-being, and I join his family, his loved ones and all his Miami-Dade Police Department and Miami-Dade family in praying for his swift recovery,” Levine Cava said in a Twitter post.

Who are Miami-Dade’s temporary top cops?

Daniels in 2022 became the first woman to hold the title of deputy director of MDPD.

The Liberty City native joined the department in 1992 and has moved up the ranks throughout her three decade-long career, also serving as an officer, detective and assistant director.

Patterson, who’s currently MDPD’s chief of corrections and forensics, has three decades of experience in law enforcement. He was the department’s director from 2013 to 2016 and later served as assistant police chief for the Miami Gardens Police Department.