Miami’s police chief in stable condition in hospital ‘after shooting himself’

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The director of the Miami-Dade Police Department is in a stable condition after surgery, the mayor said, amid reports from local media that he had shot himself.

Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez, 52, was in Tampa for a law enforcement conference, officials said.

“Following a critical injury in Tampa yesterday, Chief Ramirez is hospitalised and in critical but stable condition,” said Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava, adding: “All that matters right now is Chief Ramirez’s wellbeing.” 

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told Tampa TV station WFLA that Mr Ramirez shot himself on Sunday night during a domestic dispute after stopping his car along Interstate 75 south of Tampa, where the sheriff’s conference was under way.

The Miami Herald and WPLG reported that Mr Ramirez’s wife, Jody, was travelling with him at the time.

The Associated Press (AP) has not independently confirmed those accounts.

But according to a Tampa police report, Mr Ramirez had pointed a gun at himself during an argument on Sunday, showing there were issues before the reported shooting.

Mr Ramirez is a 27-year Miami-Dade police veteran and was leading the largest law enforcement agency in the south-eastern US.

In May, he announced his intention to seek election for the newly created role of sheriff in 2024, signalling his desire to remain the leading law enforcement official.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it, along with the Florida Highway Patrol, is investigating the “incident”.

“We have been advised by local law enforcement agencies that our director, Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Ramirez, has suffered a critical injury in the Tampa area,” a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department said.

We ask you to please keep him in your prayers.” 

The state’s law enforcement agency said no-one else was injured and there is no threat to the community.

Details regarding Mr Ramirez’s injury or how it happened were not immediately confirmed by state or Miami officials.

“We will provide information as it becomes available,” the Miami-Dade Police Department statement said.

A spokeswoman for Ms Levine Cava told The AP that the mayor travelled to Tampa after the shooting to “support Director Ramirez and his family”.

She deferred all other inquiries to the state’s law enforcement investigating agency.

A Tampa police report said officers were called to the central Marriott Waterside regarding reports of a man pointing a gun at himself outside the hotel during an argument with a woman.

The report did not include the name of the woman with Mr Ramirez, but the local news outlets identified her as his wife.

Officers arrived after witnesses and only got third-hand accounts of the argument, the report said.

There was no security footage. They found Mr Ramirez leaving a hotel room.

He told the officers he had been in an argument with the woman, but denied pulling out a gun.

Mr Ramirez said he had no intent of harming himself or others and the woman corroborated his account.

She told officers that she was not in danger.

There was no evidence of a crime or immediate danger, the Tampa police report concluded.

Mr Ramirez was told he was free to leave.

“Our hearts are with Director Ramirez and his family,” said Tampa police chief Lee Bercaw, in a statement urging police officers who are struggling to seek help.

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