Sweetwater cop shoots and injures a man who pepper-sprayed the officer, police say
A Sweetwater police officer shot and wounded a man Saturday morning not far from Florida International University’s main campus, after police say the officer was pepper-sprayed in the face.
Police said the officer fired his weapon after Joel Musipli, 30, reached into his pocket and retrieved the spray canister, which the officer believed was a gun. At some point, police say, spray was emitted and hit the office in the face. Musipli was shot in the arm, treated at a local hospital, then transported to jail. The officer is fine.
“Our officers have so much training, I don’t foresee an issue,” said Sweetwater Police Chief Placido Diaz.
By Monday there was no record of a court appearance for Musipli, who is homeless according to his arrest form. No phone number was listed and it was unknown if he had retained an attorney. There was also no record of Musipli in any Miami-Dade County jail.
Musipli was charged with a host of crimes that include possession of a firearm (the pepper spray cannister) by a convicted felon, using a chemical against a police officer, battery on a police officer and providing false identification during his arrest.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement records also show Musipli is a convicted and registered sex offender from outside of Miami-Dade County. The records show that he had absconded from the Lake Worth address he had given the state showing where he lived, when he was shot by the Sweetwater officer.
Musipli’s arrest report claims police found him walking near the corner of Southwest 107th Avenue and Sixth Street, after someone called in about a disturbance on the roadway. Police called him over after seeing Musipli with both hands in his pockets, the report says.
The report says when Musipli removed the canister from one of his pockets, the officer — who has not been named — “simultaneaously” unholstered his gun and shot a single round that struck Musipli in the right arm. Another officer on the scene did not fire.
Police, who later interviewed Musipli in the hospital, said he openly spoke with investigators and admitted to knowing he pepper-sprayed an officer because police had activated the lights on their patrol car and were dressed in full uniform.
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 2:21 PM.
