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Raul Diaz was born in Havana, Cuba in 1947, and in July, 1961, at the age of 13 he migrated to the US with his brother, Miguel, through the Pedro Pan Program. Their parents joined them in December, 1961. His family settled in Miami Beach, FL, where he attended Nautilus Jr. High School, Miami Beach Sr. High School, and Drexell Private Academy.
Raul later attended Miami Dade Community College, Florida International University and Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University). In 1971, he joined the Dade County Public Safety Department and went through the Dade County Police Academy. He started with them as a uniform patrolman and worked his way up through the Organized Crime Bureau's Terrorist and Security Unit; SW Vice, Intelligence and Narcotics Unit; the Homicide Bureau; and Miami International Airport. While working for the department, he took additional state and federal courses.
During Raul's career with the MDPD, he was also a staff instructor for: the Dade County Metropolitan Police Institute; The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Florida’s Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU); Virginia State Police and other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. In 1974, he became one of two members of the original Minority Recruitment Team of the MDPD and a founder of the Hispanic Police Officers Association. In 1978 he was elected Officer of the Year and his VIN Unit received the Departmental Unit Commendation.
Raul retired Honorably from the department in 1983 with the rank of lieutenant to enter private practice and founded ICDA Investigations. During his 13 years of service with MDPD he received numerous commendations and awards from the US Congress; federal, state and local agencies; private citizens and organizations, and foreign governments.
After retiring, he served in Miami-Dade County’s prestigious Community Relations Board and was elected its Chair-Elect for 1995-1996 and Chairman for 1996-1997. In 1997, he was the chairman of the First National Conference on Community Relations, held in Miami in March, 1997 and was an adviser to the Board of Directors of Safe Dade. In June, 1997, he became the first Hispanic to receive the coveted “President’s Award” from the Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP. Raul was also chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Police Officers Association of Miami-Dade County, of which he's also a founding member.
In 1995 Raul was invited to join the Board of Directors of the Greater Miami Inner-City Games Foundation and in 1997 became its chairman after the name of the foundation changed to the South-Florida After-School All Stars (An Arnold Schwarzenegger Youth Foundation). He continued as Chairman of the South Florida After-School All-Stars Foundation-SFASAS until October 25, 2007, when he was elected President and CEO of the SFASAS, by its Board of Directors, until 2012.
Today, Raul enjoys fishing, photography, music, reading, and spending time with his two daughters and two grandchildren. Killing the Lieutenant is his first book.
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