Chief Diaz was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, Chief Diaz has lived his entire life in South Florida. He graduated from Miami Senior High School in 1985 and began his undergraduate at the University of Miami. He graduated from the police academy when he was 20 years old and joined the ranks of the City of Miami Police Department as a Police Officer.
It was during the next 15 years in the streets of this community where most of his learning took place. He worked throughout the City of Miami, in various capacities, as Police Officer, Robbery Detective and as a Sergeant of the Coconut Grove Problem Solving Team. This provided him with the opportunity to learn firsthand the many different needs of the citizens he served, and to provide direct assistance to all stakeholders. He has served his community with honor and integrity, never hesitating to go beyond the call of duty whenever necessary. The 40 awards and commendations attained during this period speaks for itself.
He continued his education and in 1992 received a Bachelor of Professional Studies from Barry University. In time, he diversified and became involved in various other business ventures which further provided solid and stable financial stability for his family outside law enforcement. In 2003, he vested from the Miami Police Department but remained as a law enforcement professional until May of 2015. Continuing his public service career, in 2009 he began working as Executive Assistant to City of Miami Commissioner Wilredo ”Willy” Gort where he learned about other aspects of governmental functions at every level including but not limited to drafting legislation, day to day operational functions, as well as performing in depth financial internal audits. He received his Master's degree from St. Thomas University in 2013. Afterwards, he was given the opportunity to work as special projects coordinator for the Assistant Chief of Police within the City of Miami Police Department from 2013-2015. In this capacity he took on many roles that included administrative and operational oversight of a large police organization of approximately twelve hundred sworn personnel.
In May of 2015, he was hired as Chief of Police by the Mayor of the City of Sweetwater to bring much needed organizational and cultural change to the City of Sweetwater Police Department (SWPD) He inherited a department that had endured many years of hardship. This hardship created a negative impact within the rank and file of the department. This culture had impacted morale, services, efficiency and the loss of trust from the community it serves. The members within the department were divided, lacked direction and leadership which diluted the effectiveness of the overall services being provided to the residents. The leadership within the department had lost its perspective on how to correct behavior or in the inverse positively re-enforce ethical behavior. In order to properly address these issues, he began a culture renewal project. He concentrated his efforts on major organizational changes in order to raise the level of service the residents deserve. This included building a team with years of law enforcement expertise and credibility. This team would face difficult changes that needed to be implemented in order to re-energize and motivate the members within the police department. He was able to lead by example and immediately demonstrate what professionalism, leadership, mentoring, communication and teaching others was all about. He, along with the command staff, embarked on efforts to promote efficiency and regain the trust of the residents. In order to bring the level of service and trust back to the standards the residents deserve, major changes had to be implemented. It was critical that all members within the police department embrace a common mission and goal. he, along with the new command staff, implemented new directives, general orders, operating procedures throughout the department. A key issue that was identified was the lack of a clear mission statement. He adopted a simple statement that was easily understood and communicable. He re-enforced the mission and vision was to protect and serve with honor and integrity. He also communicated his vision and looked for buy in from the rank in file by keeping communication fluid upward as well as downward in the organization. He was able to motivate those under his command to buy into the concept of building a professional, well compensated and respected work force that can be used as a model for others to follow.
He was able to empower the members by establishing a labor management committee. This was established to bring management, labor and the administration together on a monthly basis in order to address concerns and also to provide ideas and or suggestions. This allowed for an open forum to discuss the overall mission of the department and also the benefits associated with the changes that are planned for the department. The organization was transformed into a community policing based organization that is becoming a university city working closely with Florida International University. He established working relationships with federal, municipal, state and local agencies along with working memorandums of understanding. In addition, he dealt with several critical incidents including a major hurricane, several active shooter incidents at one of the nation’s largest malls, and the devastating FIU bridge collapse as well as a nationwide pandemic.
During his tenure at the City of Sweetwater Police Department he has provided the leadership necessary for an effective change. In 2017, the Sweetwater Police Department went from an organization plagued with issues, to a professionally accredited organization by The Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission. Currently the SWPD is a healthy and thriving organization committed to serving their community. In addition, to his Master's degree and Bachelor’s degrees, he is a graduate from the following:
University of Louisville -The Southern Police Institute – Miami, Florida
Organizational Management Certificate Program
FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association – North Miami Beach
FBI-LEEDA Trilogy Award
FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association – North Miami Beach
279th Executive Leadership Institute
University of Louisville – The Southern Police Institute – Miami, Florida
Performance Management: From Budgeting to Operations
FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association – North Miami Beach
361st Command Leadership Institute
University of Louisville – The Southern Police Institute - Miami, Florida
Strategic Management for 21st Century Policing
University of Louisville – The Southern Police Institute Miami, Florida
Personnel Development, Assessment & Liability
Federal Air Marshal Service Miami Field Office – Miami, Florida
Law Enforcement In-Flight Tactics Familiarization 8 Hours Course
University of Louisville – The Southern Police Institute _ Miami, Florida
Organizational Leadership & Problem Solving
City of Sweetwater Police Department – Miami, Florida
Fundamentals of Code Enforcement 40 hours Course
FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association – North Miami Beach
Law Enforcement Executive Development Association 393rd Supervisor Leadership Institute for Law Enforcement Executive
Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation– Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Assessor Training
University of Louisville – The Southern Police Institute of Florida
Command Officers Development Course Executive Management Class #78
St. Thomas University - Miami, Florida
Master’s Degree in Professional Studies/Business
Executive Management
Barry University - Miami, Florida
Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Studies
Miami Dade County Community
College Southeast Florida Institute
of Criminal Justice- Miami, Florida
Basic Law Enforcement Training
University of Miami - Coral Gables, Florida
Partial Undergraduate Attendance/ Electrical
Engineering Program
Miami Senior High School - Miami, Florida
High School Diploma