Cops on desk duty, suspect still loose a week after hit-and-run took a young woman’s life
Six Miami police officers have been taken off the street and assigned desk duty as investigators look into how their actions may have contributed to a violent hit-and-run last week that left a young woman dead and her husband and friend badly injured.
Police said the driver of the Ford Mustang responsible for the crash and a passenger in the car took off on foot after the incident and have so far managed to evade police.
Police, who secured the Mustang, have searched and dusted it for forensic evidence. Miami police haven’t named the suspects, but Deputy Miami Police Chief Ron Papier said they suspect the two men in the Mustang were involved in a “violent crime” earlier that evening in the Miami area. He wouldn’t go into detail.
Papier said five cops and the unit’s sergeant have been reassigned from street patrol and are now on desk duty as investigators look into whether the officers may have strayed from policy during the chase that led to the nighttime May 5 crash at the intersection of Northwest 36th Street and Miami Avenue.
Surveillance video clearly shows the Mustang racing into the intersection at a high speed and t-boning the Subaru in which 23-year-old Ciarah Ramirez was a passenger. The reassignment of the officers was first reported by WFOR Channel 4.
Though the video doesn’t show a police car behind the Mustang as it bursts into the intersection, Papier said at some point before the crash police were tailing the vehicle.
“The bottom line is they must be chasing someone in a vehicle that they believe committed a violent crime,” said the deputy chief.
Department policy says that in addition to having committed a violent crime, police can only chase a suspect at a high rate of speed if it doesn’t endanger the public.
Since the accident, Ramirez’s husband and family friend have been released from the hospital.
There has been an outpouring of affection from family, friends and those with no attachment to Ramirez but who heard about the crash or saw the horrifying video.
A GoFundMe page created by those who knew her best had already topped $16,000 in donations by Wednesday, in an effort to help offset the cost of returning Ramirez’s body to her native Venezuela.
Loved ones also set up a makeshift memorial near the crash site that is adorned with balloons, stuffed animals and photos.
At the hospital the day Ramirez died, a cousin described her to Channel 4 as smart, beautiful and talented.
“We don’t understand this or how it happened. Our hopes are with the police and that they find them and see exactly what happened and make sure they pay for it,” Andrea Ramirez said.
A week after the crash, Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina categorized the driver of the Mustang as “reckless” and a “bad guy.”
“That driver absolutely knew that someone was either seriously harmed or he possibly killed someone and left with total disregard for what happened at that intersection,” said Colina. “And that is very heinous.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
