Miami Police's Edwin Lopez says becoming the city's newest Police Chief fulfills a "childhood dream"

Edwin Lopez was sworn in Tuesday as Miami's 44th police chief, a role the 46-year-old described as a "childhood dream". The ceremony, held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, was attended by hundreds of family members, friends, colleagues, and law enforcement officials from across South Florida.Lopez succeeds Manny Morales in leading a department of 1,400 sworn officers and 400 civilian employees in a city of nearly 500,000 residents."It means the world to me. This is an opportunity of a lifetime," Lopez said.Lopez began his law enforcement career at 19 with the Miami-Dade Schools Police, where he worked for 25 years and served as chief for four years. He had served as the police chief for Doral since 2023.Outlining his goals, Lopez stressed the importance of crime reduction and community engagement. "I lead from the front, not the desk or the office," Lopez said. "So I am out in police cars trying to understand the culture so that we can collectively try to bring tha