‘I didn’t do anything.’ Body-camera video shows Miami-Dade police director in handcuffs
When Miami-Dade County’s police director stepped out of his Tampa hotel room on July 23, one city officer had a bullet-proof shield and another had a weapon drawn. “Come out with your hands up, sir,” an officer commanded.
Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III exited the room wearing civilian clothes and an expression of disbelief as a Tampa officer seized his wrists and handcuffed him. He was one of roughly a dozen city officers who responded to a report that Ramirez had threatened his own life during an argument with his wife outside the hotel where they were attending a law enforcement convention that Sunday evening.
“What are you doing?” Ramirez said, relaxing his arms as two officers grabbed him. “All right. You know I’m the director of the Miami-Dade police department?”
READ MORE: Miami-Dade police director handcuffed at Tampa hotel hours before he shot himself
“I didn’t do anything. I don’t understand,” he said in body-camera footage the Tampa Police Department released Wednesday afternoon of an incident that was followed hours later by Ramirez wounding himself with a self-inflicted gunshot on a highway while driving home to Miami with his wife, Jody.
Episode started outside the hotel
Police were called after an argument outside the Marriott where the Ramirezes were staying that an unidentified witness said devolved into Freddy Ramirez taking out his gun and threatening his own life.
The footage shows a hotel manager telling police that someone waiting for an Uber witnessed an argument between a couple where the man put a gun to his mouth and threatened to end his life. The witness recounted what they saw to a convention attendee in law enforcement, but didn’t give their name before leaving, according to the manager.
In an interview captured by the body-camera footage, Freddy Ramirez denied pulling his gun out during the argument. Jody Ramirez also denied it after initially saying she couldn’t remember the specifics of what happened.
The footage is the first unfiltered look into an evening that began with the couple mingling at a reception for the Florida Sheriffs Association convention being held at the Tampa JW Marriott that weekend, and ended with Jody Ramirez tending to Freddy Ramirez’s wound on the side of I-75 during a frantic call to 911.
A Democratic candidate for sheriff and Miami-Dade’s top police officer since 2020, Ramirez was in distress after the Tampa police encounter. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said a remorseful Ramirez called her later that evening and offered to resign.
In the body-camera footage, both Ramirezes express bafflement at their circumstances. When officers knocked on their Marriott door, Jody Ramirez walked out first. Officers ordered “hands up” and whisked her to an area down the hall. “Is this for real?” she asked. She later told police she had no concerns for her safety with Ramirez.
On the footage, she was adamant that Freddy Ramirez didn’t threaten her or harm her. When an officer asked if he had taken his gun out and waved it, Jody Ramirez shrugged her shoulders and said: “Honestly, I can’t remember.” She said she had been drinking. Upon further questioning, she said Ramirez didn’t point a gun at himself or at her. “I would be out of here if he pointed at me, trust me,” she said.
Later, she told an officer: “I don’t remember him pulling his gun out. At all.”
An officer told her they weren’t looking to “put anyone in jail” but were concerned about her husband’s state of mind. “My husband is fine,” she said. “He’s just mad at me right now.”
Police director questioned while in handcuffs
The footage shows Freddy Ramirez in a sport shirt and jeans, his hands cuffed behind his back. In an incident summary also released Wednesday, police said they received a report that someone saw Ramirez outside the hotel take out his gun and threaten to kill himself. Officers weren’t able to confirm that the incident occurred, and Ramirez denied it, according to the incident summary.
On camera, Ramirez told officers seconds after being cuffed: “I didn’t do anything. I don’t understand,” he said. “I’m the director of the police department. Don’t do this to me, man.” One officer said: “We got a call.”
The footage shows Ramirez spelling out his name for officers but also recognizing the consequences of what was unfolding for Miami-Dade’s senior police officer. “If you’re going to write up a report, you’re going to blow my [self] up,” he said.
Later, a still cuffed Ramirez was asked by an officer about the reported argument with his wife that allegedly devolved into him brandishing his gun. “No sir, not at all,” Ramirez said. “We had a discussion...Just talking about marriage stuff. We’re good.”
Minutes later, Ramirez asked: “Are you guys filming me?” Told procedure requires body cameras to roll during a call, Ramirez responded, looking down: “I know.”
Seconds later, an unidentified officer stated off camera: “It sounds like a big misunderstanding.” In the background, Ramirez can be heard responding “no” when an officer asks if he has plans to harm himself. “I’m good,” Ramirez said.
About seven minutes after the handcuffs were put on his wrists, the footage shows an officer removing them. “I know, I know. You’re doing your job,” Ramirez said to the three Tampa officers around him. “Thanks, fellas.”
