Lake Wales City Manager James Slaton plans to replace Police Chief Christopher Velasquez, citing concerns about favoritism and a lack of transparency.
In a memo sent to Velasquez on Monday, Slaton informed the chief of a three-day, unpaid suspension to begin on March 18. Slaton also wrote that he will launch a search for a new police chief beginning next month, ending Velasquez’s 13-year tenure as the department’s leader.
Slaton’s actions follow years of complaints against the police department from the Poor and Minority Justice Association. In delivering the suspension, the city manager cited Velasquez’s handling of an officer’s promotion to the position of lieutenant in November.
Though a review did not support the outside group’s claims of racial bias, the city found that “an appearance of unfairness in the process was evident as a result of deviations from past promotional practices and the amendment of minimum qualification requirements in the position announcement,” Slaton wrote.