Sunday, July 13, 2014

When cops attack...each other [UPDATED x2]


Miami Police officer Marcel Jackson and Miami Police Internal Affairs Lt.
David Ramras scuffle near West Flagler Street and 18th Ave. late last month.

(Click images to enlarge.)

Late last month Miami Police officer Marcel Jackson was on his way to a call when a car sped past him.

Jackson pulled the car over at West Flagler Street and 18th Avenue.

Blogger Al Crespo recounts what happened next:
In late June Officer Jackson chased down a speeder, capturing the entire event on his [personal dashboard-mounted] ] Go Pro camera. The portion below is just a small part of the [55 minute video] video that I obtained about this incident.

The guy in the white shirt you’ve probably figured out if you looked at the entire clip turned out to be somebody important. In fact, it was a City of Miami policeman, and not just any old policeman, but Lieutenant David Ramras, assigned to Internal Affairs.



In the video below, Officer Jackson can be seen approaching Lt. Ramras' unmarked vehicle and begin talking to him [at the 0:40 mark].

Words are exchanged, and 15 seconds after Jackson approaches Ramras' vehicle, [at the 0:55 mark] Ramras tries to force his way out of the car.

And that's when things go horribly wrong.

It's not clear if Ramras ever told Jackson he was a police officer.



Video via Al Crespo.


(In another part of the video shot by Jackson, he recorded himself calling a friend or colleague and telling him about the altercation. Click here for that video.)

Crespo reports "so far there [has] never [been] a Use Of Force Report [filed], a traffic citation [issued] against Ramras for speeding, or an Arrest Report written.

My sources tell me that this entire incident has been turned over to the State Attorney's office, and a criminal investigation has been launched.

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UPDATE x1: Miami Police spokesman Napier Velazquez declined to comment Monday morning on reports that Jackson had been relieved of duty. Velazquez said he couldn't comment because the incident is now being investigated by Internal Affairs. 

However, sources tell me that Jackson has been relieved of duty with pay. 

UPDATE x2: Javier Ortiz, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police sent out this statement Monday afternoon: The Miami Fraternal Order of Police has received numerous media inquiries regarding the incident involving two of our members due to multiple stories written via social media. Unfortunately, some of the information being published is incorrect. Some of the conversations and information provided in these stories were not captured by the secret recordings or coming from credible sources leaving some questions which will be answered when the proper time comes.

On the day of the incident, one of our members requested for the FOP to respond. We responded immediately and provided attorneys to both Officer Jackson and Lieutenant Ramras. Neither party has provided a statement. The Miami-Dade Office of the State Attorney is reviewing the case and we look forward to this investigation being concluded.

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What's interesting about this is that despite it being discussed in detail on a blog frequented by Miami Police officers, nothing has ever been written about it in the Herald or mentioned in any TV news reports.

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Read Crespo's entire report by clicking here. 

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One veteran Miami cop told me this afternoon that he can't ever recall a case of one officer attacking another.

In fact, one has to go back 40 years to find a case of a Miami cop attacking another while on duty.

In September 1974, a handcuffed black Miami undercover officer was attacked and beaten by two white Miami cops at a Biscayne Boulevard motel.

One of the assailants, Charles Outlaw, was convicted after a trial the following year and given two years probation. 



Miami News, May 12, 1975: Cop goes on trial in beating of officer



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