Miami Beach cop recovering at home after friendly-fire shooting on Venetian Causeway
A Miami Beach officer is recovering at home after a colleague shot the officer during a scuffle with a man whom they thought had a gun on the Venetian Causeway, police said.
“Our officer is luckily in good spirits and at home recovering,” Officer Christopher Bess told the Miami Herald on Monday.
The officer who fired the shot is the subject of an internal affairs investigation, and the man police struggled with Saturday afternoon was detained, questioned and later taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation, Bess said.
“They determined that the subject obviously posed harm to himself to himself or the public,” Bess said.
The man detained was not charged with a crime and police have not confirmed whether he was armed. Police have not identified the officers involved nor detailed what prompted the officer to open fire.
Around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Miami Police Department put out an alert that a man, possibly armed with a gun, was walking on the Venetian Causeway, police said. A witness called police saying a man was holding what appeared to be a small handgun, Miami Police spokeswoman Officer Kiara Delva said.
Both city of Miami and Miami Beach officers initially responded to the incident. First, the man was reportedly seen walking eastbound on the causeway along 500 NE 15th Street in Miami. However, as Delva noted, he was last seen in Miami Beach’s jurisdiction.
Miami Beach officers found the man and a struggle ensued near Venetian Way and East Rivo Alto Drive, police said. During the altercation, one Miami Beach officer shot the other. A portion of the Venetian Causeway was closed as a result of the shooting.
City of Miami officers arrived after the Miami Beach officers made contact with the man, said Officer Michael Vega, another Miami police spokesman. They assisted in detaining him, but were not involved in the shooting, he said. No Miami officers were injured, Vega added.
Miami police rushed the wounded Miami Beach officer to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center with non-life-threatening injuries, Vega said.
This story will be updated as more information is available.
This story was originally published March 4, 2024 at 2:35 PM.
