Ramirez’s self-inflicted wound a reminder of mental-health hazards for police, mayor says

With the county’s police director gravely wounded in a hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Wednesday emphasized the mental-health hazards of law enforcement.

“This incident is also a tragic reminder of the critical role that mental health plays in our law enforcement officers,” Levine Cava said at a morning press conference, flanked uniformed county police administrators and commanders. “The reality is that these jobs are very demanding, they’re stressful and they’re emotionally taxing.”

READ MORE: Before he shot himself, Miami-Dade’s police director offered to resign, source says

Levine Cava declined to say what Alfredo (Freddy) Ramirez, the county’s police director since 2020, told her in an anguished phone call the two had hours before he shot himself on a highway outside Tampa. He and his wife, Jody, left a convention hotel in the city following a reported altercation that drew the attention of police.

“He was very remorseful,” Levine Cava said of what she described as a brief conversation by phone as Ramirez was driving away from Tampa around 8:30 p.m. “I reassured him we would talk.”

Details remain sparse as to what happened that prompted Ramirez to leave a law enforcement convention Sunday.

As the Miami Herald reported before Wednesday’s press conference, Ramirez offered his resignation to Levine Cava during the call. She did not make a decision on the offer, saying the two needed to talk on Monday.

Police said Tampa officers were responding to a potential domestic dispute when they encountered the Ramirezes in their 12th-floor hotel room. Police also said there was a report of a man wielding a gun at the Tampa Marriott at the start of the Florida Sheriff Association event the two were attending.

“I cannot speculate as to anything that was going on,” Levine Cava said.

She used the press conference to remind police officers they have access to the county’s mental-health services, and urged residents to call a suicide hot line in Miami-Dade by dialing 988 if they needed help.

Ramirez, a Democratic candidate for sheriff in 2024, has been temporarily replaced by an interim police director and interim chief safety officer overseeing public safety under Levine Cava. He assumed both roles in 2022 under Levine Cava, a first-term Democrat.

Authorities have not yet characterized the self-inflicted gunshot wound by Ramirez after pulling over Sunday night on I-75. Jody Ramirez reportedly was in the car with him when he pulled over and shot himself with his gun.

READ MORE: ‘He’s stable and he’s talking.’ Miami-Dade’s top cop said to be recovering after shooting

Levine Cava also did not characterize Ramirez’s state of mind when he stopped his car. But she and Oliver Gilbert, the county commission chairman who also spoke, addressed mental-health issues in the context of Ramirez’s self-inflicted wound.

“There’s nothing wrong with seeking help,” said Gilbert, who joined Levine Cava in Tampa on Monday before returning to Miami. “It’s a sign of strength to seek help. We never want to be this sad again. We never want to be this broken.”

In her comments, Levine Cava praised Ramirez as a stellar police leader who was appointed Miami-Dade police director under her Republican predecessor, Carlos Gimenez, and became one of her most trusted senior administrators .

“I love Freddy. He is an amazing human being,” she said. “He is the best of what law enforcement means. I have total trust in his leadership.”

This story was originally published July 26, 2023 at 1:12 PM.