The director of one of Florida’s largest police department was in critical condition at one of the state’s hospitals on Monday after reportedly shooting himself on a busy interstate.
The Miami-Dade police department director, Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez, had been involved in an earlier “altercation” that required the involvement of officers in Tampa, where he was attending a sheriffs’ association conference with his wife, the Miami Herald reported.
According to the newspaper, Sunday night’s shooting took place on interstate 75, south of Tampa, after officers had left the alleged altercation.
The Tampa police department told the Guardian on Monday that detectives were still working to collate details about what exactly happened before and after officers went to investigate the reported disturbance. The agency added that it expected to release a statement later.
The Florida highway patrol, in a statement, separately said that its troopers joined officers from the state department of law enforcement to conduct an investigation into the shooting.
“Director Ramirez suffered serious injuries and is hospitalized. No one else was injured. There is no threat to the community. Our investigation is active,” the statement said.
Ramirez, 52, underwent surgery early on Monday and was described as being in a critical but stable condition, according to the mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava.
“All that matters right now is Chief Ramirez’s wellbeing, and I join his family, his loved ones, and all his Miami-Dade police department and Miami-Dade county family in praying for his swift recovery,” she said in a tweet.
Cava’s office said she was traveling to Tampa to support Ramirez and his family.
The Herald saw an internal email from the Miami-Dade police department that urged officers not to make the 275-mile journey to show their own support. “Please continue to pray for his comfort and healing during these upcoming days,” the email said.
The shooting under investigation happened on the first day of the Florida Sheriffs Association’s four-day summer conference at Tampa’s JW Marriott hotel, which attracts more than 500 law enforcement leaders from around the country.
Ramirez was appointed to direct the Miami-Dade police department in January 2020, and he also acts as the county’s safety and emergency response chief. He has worked for the agency for 27 years.
He has filed paperwork to run for sheriff when the county shakes up its law enforcement system next year to comply with new legislation.
Miami-Dade has had no sheriff since a 1966 grand jury report found gross corruption and voters made the county’s top police job an appointed position rather than an elected one.
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