New details released from night Miami-Dade’s police director wounded himself on I-75

A newly released law enforcement report includes some new details about what happened on the night that Miami-Dade County’s police director wounded himself with a gunshot on a highway outside Tampa.

Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez, a Democratic candidate for sheriff, shot himself in the head the night of July 23rd while on a drive home from Tampa with his wife, Jody. The self-inflicted wound followed a traumatic evening that saw Tampa police called to the couple’s hotel room after a report that he had pulled out his gun during an argument with her outdoors.

READ MORE: Miami-Dade police director denies pulling out gun in Tampa, says wife saved his life

The couple released a joint statement Sunday calling the claim “false” that Ramirez unholstered his gun outside the hotel and described him being briefly cuffed by Tampa police “profoundly disturbing.” Both of them were still “distraught” when Ramirez injured himself, the statement said, and Jody Ramirez grabbed her husband’s arm in time to prevent the gunshot from being fatal.

In a lightly redacted report filed that night and obtained as part of a records request by the Miami Herald, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper included several details about the incident that haven’t been previously released or confirmed. Those include:

▪ Ramirez appeared to fire his gun while still in his vehicle, a county police SUV that was found on the side of I-75 with its emergency lights flashing. The trooper wrote that he found the driver’s side window had a bullet hole that appeared caused by someone firing from inside the vehicle. There was also blood inside. Freddy Ramirez had already been sent to a Tampa hospital when the trooper arrived, but Jody Ramirez remained on the scene.

▪ In addition to arguing outside the Tampa hotel where they were attending a Florida Sheriffs Association convention, the Ramirezes had a disagreement while driving back to Miami. The trooper’s report said Jody Ramirez told a Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy that “they were involved in a dispute while driving from the conference leading up to Mr. Ramirez attempting to take his life.”

▪ Mental health has been a theme when public officials, including Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, addressed the Ramirez shooting in public. While it was all but confirmed by the Ramirezes’ Sunday statement, the FHP report appears to be the first official record to describe his gunshot wound as a suicide attempt.

This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 6:28 PM.