The chief has admitted that he had ordered the three officers to make false arrests.

According to court documents, in 2013 Chief Atesiano instructed Officers Dayoub and Fernandez to falsely arrest and charge a 16-year-old, identified in court documents as “T.D.,” for four unsolved burglaries — even though the officers knew that there was no evidence against the teenager. The officers fabricated four arrest affidavits that claimed an investigation revealed that T.D. had committed the burglaries, the documents said.

Chief Atesiano also told Officers Ravelo and Dayoub to falsely arrest a man identified in court documents as “C.D.” in 2013 for two burglaries, even though there was no evidence that C.D. was guilty. The following year, Chief Atesiano told Officer Ravelo to arrest and charge a man referred to as “E.B.” with five vehicle burglaries, despite having no legal reason for doing so.

A court document signed by Officer Fernandez’s lawyer said Officer Fernandez “was haunted by what was happening within the Biscayne Park Police Department.”

According to the document, Chief Atesiano “was so focused on having a 100 percent clearance rate that he was enlisting his officers to make ‘bad’ arrests and to harass people of color who were seen anywhere within the city.”

Troubled by the unethical behavior, Officer Fernandez sent a letter to the city manager about the bad arrests, then worked with state and federal investigators, his lawyer said. He later told them that Chief Atesiano “via his underlings, would use a specific code meant to alert officers that a person of color was seen in the city and that they needed to be stopped and confronted.”