West Palm Beach – West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James said a leadership void in the police department along with a police involved crash that took the lives of two people led to the ouster of Police Chief Frank Adderley.

James announced Adderley’s termination during a news conference last week following an investigation that he said divulged improper conduct among police officers and financial improprieties among the upper echelon of law enforcement officers.

James said after he was elected mayor he had high expectations in hiring Adderley from Fort Lauderdale in 2019 to run the department, even jeopardizing his political career when he demoted Sarah Mooney to assistant police chief and supplanted her with Adderley.

But the department allegedly went downhill at some point, he said, calling for Adderley’s firing.

“These events demonstrate the leadership of the police department has not aligned with its mission,” James said. “Leadership starts at the top. The police chief is responsible for setting the tone and enforcing standards of professionalism and accountability within the department.”

James didn’t go into detail about the alleged misconduct and financial issues citing the ongoing investigation into the department.

He appointed Palm Beach County Sheriff Office Col. Tony Araujo to serve as interim police chief while the city conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.

Adderely didn’t respond to a request for an interview. Speaking with CBS Channel 12 News last Friday, he denied the accusations against him and his officers.

“At no point during my tenure did I participate in, condone, or turn a blind eye to any financial misconduct,” he said. “Furthermore, any allegations suggesting that I was aware of such improprieties and failed to take action are entirely false.”

Adderley said he is optimistic that once they concluded the investigation will discover no wrongdoing in the police department during his tenure.

“I am certain that these investigations will demonstrate that these incidents were isolated and not indicative of systemic issues within the department,” Adderley said. “They in no way reflect on the hard work and integrity of the dedicated employees of the West Palm Beach Police Department.”

The department, founded in 1894, currently employs 314 sworn officers to police the city which encompasses 57 square miles.

Several months ago, James told reporters he was concerned regarding a fatal vehicle crash involving West Palm police officers in Boynton Beach.

According to a police report, officers were in pursuit of a man whose vehicle crashed into another car.

Boynton Beach police officers said Neoni Copeland crashed his car into a vehicle occupied by Marcia Pochette, 57, and her 27-year-old daughter Jenice Woods.

Both mother and daughter died as a result of the accident.

Copeland, 23, is facing two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and one count of resisting arrest.

Seven police officers from the West Palm department were placed on administrative leave following the incident.

Adderley was reticent about the fatal accident while the Boynton Beach Police Department investigated the incident, which initially blamed his officers for causing the crash.

Adderley was Fort Lauderdale’s police chief from 2008 to 2013, when he joined the Broward Sheriff office as second in command.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis removed Sheriff Scott Israel after the 2018 shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and replaced him with Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony

In one of his first acts as the new sheriff, Tony fired Adderley, who headed the agency’s communications department, which was accused of a slow response to the shooting that took the lives of 17 people and seriously injured another 17.

Adderley told reporters following his firing he had “no role” in the slowed response to the Parkland shooting.

West Palm Beach has shifted its focus to creating a solid police department with Araujo at the helm during the interim.

“Despite the unforeseen change, the police department remains an accredited, experienced agency full of professionals that the community can trust to do their job,” he said during the news conference.