BY TYLER BRIDGES

 The fallout from the Elian Gonzalez raid and its turbulent aftermath brought down a second top Miami official in two days when Police Chief William O'Brien announced Friday he would resign.

 O'Brien's announcement came 16 hours after Mayor Joe Carollo fired City Manager Donald Warshaw, the police chief's boss, at an emotion-packed City Hall meeting where dozens of Cuban Americans called for Warshaw and O'Brien to step down.

 O'Brien left no doubt Friday that Carollo's action played a major role in his decision.

 ``I refuse to be chief of police when someone as divisive and destructive as Joe Carollo is mayor,'' O'Brien said. Dozens of police personnel packed into the ground-floor lobby at police headquarters burst into applause.

 Late Friday, Carollo said O'Brien and Warshaw had both referred to him in the past as a ``mayor of the highest integrity.''

 O'Brien ``can't even leave with dignity. Shame on him and even more on Mr. Warshaw,'' Carollo said. ``These two guys have been complete frauds to this community. They have been taking this community for a ride.''

 Under the the city charter, Warshaw will remain in office at least 10 days after his firing. Four of the five commissioners can block Carollo's move during that period. City Commissioner Wifredo ``Willy'' Gort said he expects the commission to vote on Thursday whether to ratify or overrule the mayor's decision.

 The events are taking place against a politically charged atmosphere in which many Cuban Americans have sided against Warshaw, O'Brien and the police department while many African Americans and non-Hispanic whites have come to their defense.

 ``I have never seen this community so divided,'' said City Commissioner Joe Sanchez.

 POLITICALLY VOLATILE

 Because of the volatile political situation -- which a major demonstration Saturday could exacerbate if it turns disruptive -- it was unclear Friday whether Warshaw will have the necessary votes to keep his job.

 The offices of all five commissioners said Warshaw supporters bombarded them with phone calls, e-mails and faxes Friday. Warshaw has received high marks for playing a key role in the city's financial turnaround.

 Gort and Commissioner Arthur Teele Jr. said Friday they were inclined to back Warshaw. Sanchez said he was undecided. Commissioner Johnny Winton strongly endorsed Warshaw, saying that Carollo was trying to dismantle the police department even though crime in Miami has declined for six years in a row.

 The fifth commissioner, Tomas Regalado, did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday.

 O'Brien's decision Friday capped one of the stormiest weeks in Miami's history, beginning with Saturday's predawn raid to remove 6-year-old Elian from his relatives' Little Havana home. The federal action incensed Cuban Americans, and they grew increasingly angry in succeeding days at what they viewed as heavy-handed police tactics against demonstrators.

 CAROLLO ATTACKS

 Within hours of Saturday's raid, Carollo began attacking O'Brien for not notifying him beforehand and for allowing Assistant Chief John Brooks to accompany the federal convoy. Carollo then began training his sights on Warshaw before finally firing him Thursday night.

 The mayor insisted the Elian Gonzalez matter had nothing to do with his decision, saying that Warshaw wasn't managing the city properly.

 But many others accused Carollo of pandering to the 55 to 60 percent of Cuban Americans who vote in Miami elections.

 ``I am now convinced we are living in a Cuban American dictatorship led by a weak man of inferior intelligence named Joe Carollo,'' one reader, Anna Ljung, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.

 REMINISCENT FIRING

 Even if Warshaw gets the four votes he needs from the commission, Carollo could simply fire him again, as he did with City Manager Jose Garcia-Pedrosa in 1998. Carollo fired Garcia-Pedrosa three times -- and the commission reinstated him each time -- before Garcia-Pedrosa finally stepped aside.

 Gort said that could happen again now and predicted that Warshaw's days as city manager are numbered, no matter how the commission votes.

 Warshaw seemed to agree, saying at one point Thursday night, ``I realize I'm not going to be here much longer.''

 O'Brien, interviewed after Thursday night's five-hour meeting, said he had no intention of resigning. But the police chief said he changed his mind overnight.

 ``The healing has got to start,'' he said.

 IMMINENT RETIREMENT

 O'Brien, 56, was a pilot during the Vietnam War and served 25 years on the police force, including the last two as police chief. He said he will retire next week.

 On Friday, Warshaw, who was O'Brien's predecessor as police chief, gave a rousing defense of O'Brien that was interrupted by applause several times.

 ``This is a decent, compassionate man,'' Warshaw said. ``I couldn't be more proud of what he's done.''

 He also vigorously defended the police department and promised it would keep the peace Saturday.

 ``We're going to make sure that the world watches a peaceful demonstration,'' he said.

 In his emotional statement, Warshaw struck a defiant note: ``I'll be damned if I'm going to let anybody make me feel, on my way out, like I've done anything wrong.''

 Warshaw indicated that, despite his apparent lame-duck status, he is likely to select a new police chief next week. He said he did not expect to consult with Carollo before he makes that decision.

 POSSIBLE CHIEFS

 Speculation on the police force about O'Brien's successor focused on three high-ranking officers: Israel Gonzalez, 41, an 18-year veteran who is O'Brien's right-hand man; Juan Garcia, a 40-year-old major who commands the force in Little Havana and Flagami; and Ray Martinez, a 41-year assistant police chief who oversees the administrative staff.

 Not expected to get the job is Brooks, another of O'Brien's three assistant police chiefs, who came under fire from Cuban Americans for following O'Brien's order to accompany federal agents on the raid. Brooks' role was to prevent possible friendly fire from Miami police officers manning the barricades outside Elian's home.

 When he fired Warshaw, Carollo cited as his first reason the city manager's failure to name new directors of budget and finance and the impending departure of one of his three assistant managers, Bertha Henry, who oversees the financial team.

 The state Financial Oversight Board also expressed concern Friday about the vacancies, in light of the likely departure of Warshaw. The four-member board asked the mayor and the City Commission to have in place plans for a new senior management team by next Friday.

 NEXT MANAGER

 Carollo, in an interview Thursday night, said he had spoken with several highly qualified people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds as possible replacements for Warshaw. He would not identify any of them.

 Edward Marquez, whom Carollo named as city manager in late 1996 but who lost his job when Xavier Suarez became mayor a year later, said Carollo has called him, but he expressed little interest in the job.

 The new city manager could have a short tenure since Carollo is up for reelection in November 2001. Before then, a new manager would have to contend with the polarization between Carollo and the City Commission.

 City Hall insiders say these conditions make it likely that Carollo will have to choose someone from within the city bureaucracy.

 Early speculation has centered on Frank Rollason, a 35-year city official, who served as city manager for 24 days under Suarez and is currently director of the city's building department.

 Asked about the possibility Friday of getting the nod, Rollason said, ``Somebody's got to be there. I can see things going from bad to worse if you bring somebody in completely from the outside.''

 Rollason said he had had no discussions about the job with Carollo.

 Herald staff writer Elaine de Valle also contributed to this report.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald