A Kissimmee deputy police chief who decided to retire last month was facing termination for making a homophobic remark about a female officer seeking a promotion, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
And it wasn’t the first time Camille Alicea, considered a trailblazer among Hispanics in Central Florida’s law enforcement community, was accused of making homophobic comments. But records provided to the Sentinel this week in response to a public records request offer no indication she was previously investigated or disciplined for allegedly doing so.
That changed earlier this year, after Alicea was accused of suggesting a fellow officer was being promoted “because she is a lesbian female.” Alicea was suspended, and an investigation corroborated the accusation.
In a Sept. 9 memo, Chief Betty Holland wrote, “I have determined it is impossible for Deputy Chief Alicea to fulfill the role of a deputy chief and that her actions affected the good order of the Kissimmee Police Department. I have made the decision to terminate her employment with the City of Kissimmee.”
Alicea had retired three days earlier, on Sept. 6, during a conversation with Holland about the investigative findings. That marked the end of a 26-year career at KPD.
But in an interview with the Sentinel, Alicea denied the recent remark was homophobic, claiming that no one who heard her remark, including a captain and another deputy chief, filed an official complaint.
“If they were so offended by it, they could have reported it to the chief, but they didn’t,” Alicea said.
The investigation into Alicea’s remark was opened in spring 2024 after an anonymous letter describing it was sent to city and police officials.
The Sentinel also received an anonymous email at around the same time detailing the allegation, which further accused Alicea of making past homophobic comments about officers.
At the time, KPD spokeswoman Alibeth Suarez confirmed the existence of an investigation but declined to offer any details of allegations against Alicea. A subsequent public records act request yielded only a copy of a memo saying she had been suspended on May 16 and referring to “an allegation of discrimination.”
The department finally provided a fuller description of the incident this week, after the investigative report was concluded and the matter resolved.
According to the report, Alicea made the comment during an April 29 lunch with third-party assessors evaluating whether Cpl. Marline Neitzel would become a sergeant.
During a conversation about whether Neitzel’s qualifications weighed more heavily than her identity, the report said Alicea asked, “Are we going to have to promote her again because she’s a lesbian female?” Neitzel had earned the third-highest score on an exam to become sergeant, records show.
Two other officials, including Deputy Chief Wilson Muñoz, confirmed the comment to investigators.
When he heard the remark, Muñoz asked Alicea to change the subject as he was “uncomfortable with the conversation,” according to the report. But the third-party assessor to whom Alicea put the question, Joyce Dawley, defended Alicea, believing nothing she said “was demeaning or hateful toward any group.”
According to the report, Alicea said she offered the comment in reference to Neitzel’s promotion to corporal, a decision she claimed then-Chief Jeff O’Dell made after considering Neitzel’s gender and sexual orientation. The report said O’Dell told investigators he accounted for sexuality and age when considering the promotion but based his decision on her experience, adding “his goal in promotions was to have a supervisory group that was reflective of the community that we serve.”
Alicea offered a fuller defense in her interview with the Sentinel: “At no moment was I opposed to her promotion because of her sexuality. If you come to work and do your job, I don’t care what you do in your personal life.”
But investigators reported that Neitzel also provided an example from 10 years ago in which Alicea allegedly told her she “did not approve of what [Neitzel] does” when Neitzel was talking to another officer about a woman she was dating.
According to the report, the incident was flagged but investigators “could find no document outlining how this situation was resolved.” Alicea, asked about the incident, told investigators she felt the conversation between Neitzel and the other officer was inappropriate and would have felt the same way if a man was talking about a woman or vice versa.
Alicea denied or said she couldn’t recall several other incidents referenced in the report, including one by Capt. Daniel Schad accusing her of saying, “Those people are going to hell,” in response to a televised LGBTQ event.
Still, investigators concluded Alicea’s most recent comment about Neitzel was “likely to adversely affect the reputation of the department.”
Suarez added on Thursday: “The City of Kissimmee Police Department holds all employees to the highest standards of professionalism and conduct. A thorough internal investigation revealed Deputy Chief Alicea’s comments do not align with the agency’s commitment to foster an environment of service or culture that values equality or respect.”
The Sentinel could not reach Neitzel for comment.
Alicea’s retirement, which she said had been decided upon but then deferred three years before her departure, marks the end of a decades-long career at KPD that broke glass ceilings for Latinas in law enforcement. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she joined in 1998 and was promoted to sergeant in September 2004, becoming Central Florida’s first Latina to achieve rank above officer.
In March 2020, she became the first Latina promoted to captain, about two years after Muñoz became the first Hispanic to do so. At the time, O’Dell told the Sentinel he sought to make the higher ranks more reflective of the community — which had a nearly 43% Hispanic population in June 2020.
In 2023, Holland promoted Muñoz and Alicea again, making them KPD’s first Hispanic deputy chiefs.
“I never thought I would get to the positions I got to and accomplish what I did when I first started as a police officer,” Alicea told the Sentinel. “Even in the difficult times, I realized that I opened doors for Hispanic women, and that is something I’m proud of.”
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