Grove’s Top Cop Steps Down

Citing “the politics of policing,” Coconut Grove Police Commander Daniel Kerr has given up the position he’s filled for the past three years, making way for 27-year police veteran and former Grove resident Freddie Cruz.

Miami Police Commander Daniel Kerr, known for his non-traditional, community-oriented approach to policing, has stepped down from his post as the top cop in Coconut Grove after three years on the job. 

Kerr did not specify the exact reason to self-demote – a rare move in the police department – but claimed it was his own decision prompted by “philosophical differences” with his department’s leadership and the “politics of policing.” 

“My greatest regret, and probably the reason I hung around longer than I wanted to, was my love for the Grove and the people in it,” Kerr said in an interview with the Spotlight. “I really do love it. I love the cops there.” 

Kerr’s replacement, Commander Freddie Cruz, took over on June 1. Cruz has served for 27 years with the City of Miami Police Department, including stints as a commander in Edgewater, Little Havana and Wynwood. He most recently served as director of the department’s Public Information Office. 

“What I want to do is prevent anything bad from happening to anyone. I want people to feel that the Coconut Grove area is paradise, where there is no crime, where there are no issues,” Cruz told the Spotlight. 

Kerr, originally from the Grove, served as commander since 2022, overseeing police operations in the Grove during a time of steadily declining crime rates. The area ranks as the safest of the city’s policing districts. Says who? 

During his tenure, Kerr was known for biking Grove neighborhoods, sparking up conversations with residents, attending community forums and hosting informal “Coffee with a Cop” chats. 

In 2023 interview with the Spotlight, Kerr said his style of policing at times placed him at odds with his superiors. While commander in Wynwood – his post before arriving in the Grove – Kerr recalled, he instructed cops to get out of their cars and into the streets to interact with residents. 

“The higher-ups were furious because they would drive by and see a cop on the street standing on the corner with coffee, talking to people,” Kerr explained.

“They’d call me into the office and say, ‘Your guy has no [arrest] numbers. I saw him standing on the street.’ I’d say, ‘You saw him standing on the street? That’s his number – his communication, his availability, his getting into the neighborhood.”

In the Grove, Kerr said he felt trusted and supported to implement this vision for community policing. But over time, he said, other frustrations built up and, as a commander, his ability to speak out was limited. 

“Commanders can’t say and do certain things because they’re in a politically managed – and generally appointed – position. Their hands are tied because it’s frowned upon if they said certain things, or if they did certain things,” he said.

Now that he’s back in his previous position as captain, Kerr said he is once again able to speak more freely on matters like pedestrian safety or policing philosophy. Besides reducing crime, Kerr said he is most passionate about making streets safer – and more available – to pedestrians and cyclists. 

“I remain committed to bicycle and pedestrian safety and advocate for a cultural shift in roadway improvement and traffic enforcement,” Kerr said in a recent email to Grove community leaders shared with the Spotlight. 

“The efforts of Friends of the Commodore Trail and bike advocacy groups like BikeSafe are crucial to our city’s growth, even if policymakers don’t yet recognize it.” 

Over the years Kerr led several bike-to-school days and community bike rides, closing down streets with “guerrilla bike lanes,” to demonstrate how roadways can be modified in the Grove to accommodate bicyclists. 

“It takes somebody getting injured, like the teacher that got hit from Ransom (Everglades School) last year, to realize and that still didn’t wake them up,” he said. “I don’t want to wait for a kid to get hit before building a bike lane going to Coconut Grove Elementary.”

In his new assignment, Kerr will provide investigative support for the department’s downtown office where he will help launch a new urban policing group.

Cruz, who attended high school with Kerr, said he is aware of his predecessor’s outsized presence in the Grove. 

“Obviously, we’re two different people – he’s a very hands-on, very community-oriented person – [but] I also have the same philosophy, the same thought process,” Cruz said. 

Cruz grew up visiting the Grove, attending Goombay Festivals, taking acting classes at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, and even lived here for a few years – all of which makes the assignment “very personal” to him, he said.

“I just want to let people know that I’m there for them. I’m only a phone call away, not an email away. I’m a phone call away,” he said. 

Cruz has no plans for any drastic changes to policing in the Grove – noting the declining crime rates – but intends to take nothing for granted.

“I would love to add more [police presence], without making it feel like a police, military state,” he said. “I put myself in the perspective of a couple that’s going out to dinner, right, and they see a policeman, they feel safe, and that’s what I want for anyone.”