At the next Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce membership meeting, members and their guests will stand at attention, as Miami-Dade Police Town Commander Major Javier Ruiz will be in the building.
Ruiz is the guest speaker for the event, which is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.Wednesday, April 11 at Shula’s Hotel Grand Ballroom.
The organization’s monthly gathering opens for networking with lunch to follow at noon. Deadline to reserve a table is Friday, April 6 at noon. To reserve, call Marta Diaz at 305- 556-2212,or email mdiaz@ miamilakeschamber.com.
Ruiz will discuss police business and plans to add more resource officers at Miami Lakes’ schools to protect students, teachers and administration from gun violence in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High shooting massacre.
Ruiz knows Miami Lakes very well.With over 22 years as a police officer, he started his career with the Northwest District, which then included Miami Lakes and the surrounding unincorporated areas.
During his early tenure here, he served as both a field training officer teaching and training newly hired officers and as a detective with the General Investigations Unit, investigating multiple types of crimes and apprehending criminal violators.
He was promoted to Sergeant and assigned to Miami Lakes’ detached police unit after the town incorporated in 2000, and served multiple roles including uniform patrol and as a detective assigned to the general investigations unit.
Ruiz also worked in Internal Affairs and conducted criminal and administrative investigations of employees of the Miami-Dade Police Department. In 2012, he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Departmental Discipline Coordination, where he managed, reviewed, and coordinated all department disciplinary actions, grievances and labor management issues for the police department.
Ruiz also served as Captain of the Robbery Bureau, where he was responsible for coordinating operations and ensuring complete investigation activity in cases handled by the Robbery Investigations Unit and the Street Terror Offender Program.
In 2017, Ruiz returned to his old stomping ground, when he was promoted to Miami Lakes’ town Police Commander. He is currently in charge of overseeing the police officers assigned to the Miami Lakes unit, directing the daily law enforcement operations, accomplishing the town’s priorities, managing the delivery for police services, and ensuring that the policing needs of the residents are adequately met.
Ruiz’s resume also includes a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Florida International University, and he graduated from the Southern Police Institute’s 73rd Command Officer’s Development Course.
In addition, he completed the Miami-Dade Police Department Applied Professionalism and Leadership Program, and was awarded the MDPS’s Employee Excellence Award and Bronze Medal of Valor. Traveling is among Ruiz’s favorite hobbies while being a devoted father and husband to his daughters and wife of 18 years.