Body camera footage shows former Miami cop throwing handcuffed woman to the ground

A newly released video showing a Miami police officer grabbing a handcuffed woman by the neck, throwing her face first to the ground and knocking her unconscious will be reviewed by a police oversight group on Tuesday.

The woman, who repeatedly yelled “don’t touch me,” filed a complaint days after the November 2020 incident. The body camera footage and surrounding circumstances are scheduled to be reviewed by the city of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP), at a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Miami City Hall. The full panel’s review is the last step of the inquiry that is required after someone files a complaint of police misconduct at the CIP, and it is sometimes the first public discussion about use-of-force complaints against cops.

Former Police Chief Art Acevedo mentioned the incident in a lawsuit against the city, in which he alleged an attempted cover-up of the officer’s behavior. Acevedo was fired in October 2021 amid controversy over public statements and after he alleged corruption in City Hall. In his lawsuit, he said Miami police officers had engaged in a “pattern of excessive use of force” and police supervisors had covered it up, citing the example of the woman being thrown to the ground.

But the oversight agency’s inquiry found police supervisors acted correctly to fix initial reports that mischaracterized the incident, echoing the results of an investigation by police internal affairs.

The officer had told the woman, then 20 years old, to leave the Little Havana gas station where she had been sitting on the sidewalk, after the owner called the police. As she walked away, she flicked ashes from her cigarette on the police vehicle. The officer, Miguel Hernandez, followed the woman to the next block where he confronted her about the cigarette stain. Joined by another officer, the two tried to force the woman to go back to the police car to clean the stain.

The woman refused while cursing at the cops. The officers restrained the woman while Hernandez said she was resisting. They eventually led her back to the police car parked at the gas station where they placed her in the back seat. The video shows her screaming at the officer and at one point she spit on Hernandez. Seconds later, Hernandez grabbed the woman’s neck with both hands, dragged her out of the car and threw her to the ground.

The second officer, who had turned away, immediately kneels down to check on the woman, who is unconscious, while he screamed at Hernandez.

“What the hell did you do?” the officer yelled. “What the hell?”

According to the CIP report, Hernandez resigned in June 2021 after the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office looked into the incident. Hernandez also relinquished his police license.

A sergeant who arrived on the scene soon after, Carlos Mendez, filed a report explaining the use of force. He initially reported that Hernandez’s actions were reasonable and within state laws. A supervisor, Lieutenant Rodolfo Bertrand, later disagreed with the initial report and returned it to Mendez the same day.

The interactions over the use-of-force report is what Acevedo cited in his lawsuit. Both the department’s internal affairs and the CIP found that Bertrand, the lieutenant, noted the problem and did not approve an incorrect report.

Mendez retired from the force in August 2021.

The CIP staff recommends closing the case against both officers who have left the force and exonerating Bertrand because he returned the incomplete report the same day. The agency did sustain allegations against another officer, Matthew Hall, who covered up his body camera with his hand and failed to unmute his camera in violation of department orders.

The civilian panel has no disciplinary power. It can make recommendations to the police chief based on an independent assessment of whether or not department rules were followed.

“During our complaints committee members of the panel were deeply shaken by the actions of the officer, and questioned his ability to do any law enforcement in America,” said Rodney Jacobs, assistant director of the CIP. “This is deeply concerning behavior that should never be tolerated and should spark the interest of the state attorney for criminal prosecution.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 5:58 PM.