Video: Miami Police Officer Sucker-Punches Woman At Airport

From the Miami Herald:

A Miami-Dade police officer was relieved of duty after body-camera footage surfaced Wednesday night of him hitting a woman who was yelling at him at Miami International Airport.

The video, obtained by the Miami Herald, shows a masked officer speaking to a Black woman in a terminal on Wednesday when she becomes irate and begins taunting him. “You acting like you white when you really Black…what you want to do?” the woman says.

The unmasked woman steps up to the man, putting her face right in his before he strikes her in the face. “She headbutted me,” he says as the officers rush in to handcuff her.

The officer has apparently been identified as Antonio Clemente Rodriguez, a Black officer of Puerto Rican heritage, who is currently assigned to the airport. The woman’s identity hasn’t been revealed to the public. Steadman Stahl, the president of the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association, told the Miami Herald the officer hit her with an “open-hand slap,” sometimes called a “diversionary strike.” I understand the woman got in the officer’s face but is sucker-punching her the answer? I thought he’s wearing a badge because he’s been trained to manage and de-escalate situations?

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Alfredo Ramirez III tweeted that he was “shocked and angered” by the video, and that in addition to relieving the officer of duty, he’s asked for an investigation into the incident.

I am shocked and angered by a body cam video that i just saw involving one of our officers. I’ve immediately initiated an investigation and ordered that the involved officers be relieved of duty. Actions such as these undermine the hard work that we have invested in (1 of 3)…

— Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III (@MDPD_Director) July 2, 2020

I have also just spoken to our State Attorney @KathyFndzRundle and asked that her office immediately become involved in the investigation. (3 of 3)

— Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III (@MDPD_Director) July 2, 2020