Judges uphold firing of ex-Miami police chief

MIAMI (AP) -- The firing of former Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito has been upheld by a panel of judges.

The three-judge panel ruled Wednesday that the city commission acted properly in terminating Exposito in September. Exposito was fired as head of the 1,100-officer force for failing to obey the city manager's orders regarding demotion of three command staff officers.

Exposito had already been under fire from leaders in Miami's black community for what they called excessive use of force in inner-city neighborhoods. That prompted a U.S. Justice Department civil rights investigation into the fatal police shootings of seven black suspects in an eight-month span.

The judges found that Exposito was given due process in the firing and that it was backed by sufficient evidence.

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