Global Courant
Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez is said to be in stable condition after a reported shooting incident in Tampa. Local media reports suggest that Ramirez shot himself during a Sunday night domestic dispute along Interstate 75 in the presence of his wife. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, along with the Florida Highway Patrol, are investigating the incident.
The Miami-Dade Police Department director was in stable condition following surgery at a Tampa-area hospital, the Miami-Dade mayor said Monday, 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 yesterday in Tampa, Chief Ramirez has been hospitalized and is in critical but stable condition,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said, adding that “all that matters right now is Chief Ramirez’s well-being.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told Tampa TV station WFLA that Ramirez shot himself Sunday night during a domestic dispute after stopping his car along Interstate 75 south of Tampa, where the sheriff’s conference was in progress.
The Miami Herald and WPLG reported that Ramirez’s wife, Jody, was traveling with him at the time.
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The Associated Press has not independently confirmed those accounts.
Ramirez oversees the largest police station in the Southeastern United States
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it is investigating the “incident” along with the Florida Highway Patrol.
“We have been informed by local law enforcement that our director, Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Ramirez, has suffered a critical injury in the Tampa area,” said a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department. “We ask that you please keep him in your prayers.”
The state law enforcement agency said no one else was injured and there is no threat to the community.
Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez is said to be in stable condition following a reported shooting incident in Tampa.
Details of 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 statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department said.
A spokeswoman for Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told the AP that the mayor had traveled to Tampa after the shooting to “support Director Ramirez and his family.” She deferred all other investigations to the state law enforcement investigation agency.
The Herald quoted unnamed law enforcement sources as saying that Tampa police contacted Ramirez earlier Sunday night at the JW Marriott hotel, where the conference was being held, after a report of an altercation.
According to WPLG, Ramirez and his wife stepped out of the hotel around 6:30 p.m. Sunday and began arguing. A witness saw Ramirez put a gun in his mouth and called 911, the police station reported. When Tampa police arrived, the couple denied the witness’s account and the witness had left.
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The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office referred questions about the hotel incident to the Tampa Police Department and did not immediately respond to questions about how Ramirez was injured. A spokesman for the Tampa Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the reported altercation at a downtown hotel.
Ramirez is a 27-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department. In May, he announced his intention to run for election to the newly created role of sheriff in 2024, signaling his desire to remain the lead law enforcement officer.
