Off-duty Miami-Dade officer commits assault, taps gun at son’s wrestling meet, cops say
A Miami-Dade police officer attending a high school wrestling match while off-duty over the weekend got a little carried away, police said, attacking and pushing someone to the ground in the gymnasium, then lifting his shirt and tapping his holstered firearm while being escorted out of the gymnasium.
Guillermo Cuba, a 25-year veteran who worked economic crimes, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, battery and displaying a firearm on school property. Cuba, 50, was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
By Monday afternoon he had been released. Cuba was relieved of duty with pay until investigations by Miami-Dade Schools Police and Internal Affairs are complete. His attorney, called Monday afternoon, had not yet returned a phone call by 4 p.m.
“The arrest of a police officer weighs heavily on our profession and our community,” Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez said in a written statement, adding he was confident schools police would thoroughly investigate “this very serious matter.”
A law enforcement source with knowledge of the incident said Cuba was attending an event in which his son was wrestling. And Cuba was angered when a ref — for some unknown reason — escorted his son from the event. That’s when Cuba, the source said, ran to the mat and shoved either the ref or a security guard to the ground.
Cuba’s arrest report said the veteran officer was attending a wrestling tournament involving different schools late Saturday afternoon at North Miami Senior High, 13110 NE Eighth Ave., when he became enraged and stormed the mat. There he pushed someone to the ground before school staff began escorting him off the property.
As he was being led away, the report says, Cuba lifted his shirt, tapped a 9mm Glock handgun that was holstered in his belt and twice repeated, “I’ll f---ing kill you.”
Cuba stayed in the school parking lot until North Miami Police arrived. They took his gun and said there was a bullet loaded in a chamber.
The incident was captured on surveillance camera. Cuba invoked his right to remain silent. Cuba has hired a private attorney to represent him against the criminal charge. The Police Benevolent Association will represent him should he fight the suspension.
“From the reports we’ve seen, we’re disappointed. But like every other person, we’ll wait for the outcome before jumping to conclusions,” said PBA President Steadman Stahl.
