Miami police officer accidentally runs over 6-year-old boy in Little Haiti

A 6-year-old boy suffered a broken leg and bumps and bruises when he was hit by a Miami police car after “he darted” into a little Haiti Street on Wednesday afternoon, according to police.

Miami Police Maj. Delrish Moss said that the officer, who was not identified, was heading south on Northwest Fifth Avenue from 58th Street at about 4 p.m. when the boy, on a blue scooter, came out from between two trucks.

“He didn’t see him,” Moss said, adding that the officer, who was on his way to give another officer a form to tow a car, was shaken up. “It appears to be just an accident.”

After the boy was hit, “tensions were high,” Moss said. He said a few family members threw punches at the officer behind the wheel, but no one was charged.

“We are willing to forgive that,” he said.

The officer, who called for rescue immediately, tried to help the boy until other rescuers arrived.

Police said the officer was Ervens Ford II, who’s been with the Miami Police department since April 1, 2014. \

Ford II is the son of veteran Miami police officer Ervens Ford. The incident is the second time in just over a year that the son of a veteran Miami cop has accidentally hit a civilian. In December, 2014, officer Michael Cadavid hit a tagger named Delbert Rodriguez Gutierrez - who also darted out from between vehicles - as he pursued him in Wynwood during Art Basel. Gutierrez died from his injuries. Cadavid is the son of retired Miami police officer George Cadavid.

Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said a rescue crew arrived six minutes after they received the call and that the boy was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital within 20 minutes.

“He seems to be stable and should be OK,” Carroll said.

A family friend, Dexis Montiel, said the boy, named Antoine, and his mother live with her only a few houses from where he was hit. She said he was out playing with friends when she heard screams.

“He was under the car,” she said. Montiel said that by 7 p.m., she had heard from his mother and he seemed to be doing better.

Moss said Miami’s Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating. Any accident that involves a police officer is investigated by the unit, police said.

Miami Herald writer Matias Ocner and staff writer Charles Rabin contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Miami police officer accidentally runs over 6-year-old boy in Little Haiti."