MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (WSVN) — Gunfire erupted in Miami Gardens over Memorial Day weekend when, investigators said, police officers were forced to open fire in two separate traffic stops.
The most recent incident took place Monday afternoon when, authorities said, two Miami-Dade Police officers fired at a Mercedes-Benz after the driver of an SUV rammed the vehicle into their squad car near a Burger King located along Northwest 179th Street and 27th Avenue.
“The officers of the Miami-Dade Police Department were conducting an investigative stop where they observed a black SUV occupied by four occupants,” said Detective Marjorie Eloi. “The officers attempted to stop the car, at which time the driver of the vehicle rammed the officers’ vehicle.”
Police said the male driver of the SUV took off with three female passengers inside. A short chased ensued moments later, which ended at a nearby apartment complex. Two people were arrested at the scene and two others were hospitalized, including a female juvenile who is now at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
Police said it is unclear how the two people were transported to the hospital or whether they were shot. However, they sustained injuries that were not life-threatening.
According to Miami-Dade Police, one of the officers has been on the force for two years, while the other officer has been on the force for nine years.
The busy intersection where the Miami-Dade Police officers discharged their firearms remained shut down most of the day.
The shooting comes on the heels of an earlier incident where, investigators said, the driver of a black sedan fired at the Miami Gardens Police officer who had pulled him over, early Sunday.
A police dashcam video captured the scene as the officer approached the car, opened the driver’s side door and jumped away as he came under fire. “During a traffic stop, the occupant of that vehicle discharged a firearm in the direction of the officer, striking his police car once,” said Miami Gardens Police Chief Antonio G. Brooklen. “The officer returned fire, striking the subject, at which time the subject fled the scene.”
The officer called for backup. Shortly after, responding officers spotted the subject’s vehicle and briefly gave chase until he surrendered near Northwest 12th Avenue and 191st Street. The driver was taken into custody without incident.
Witness Porfirio Burgos told 7News the driver did not offer resistance. “They were telling him to keep his hands outside the car, place his hands up,” he said. “I heard the man screaming inside the car. He said, ‘I got my hands up! I got my hands up!’ So they told him to come out of the car, and the police was there with their guns drawn.”
The driver, later identified as 37-year-old Gary Sprauve, was hit in the hand and was transported to Aventura Hospital to be treated. The officer involved in the shooting was not injured.
Investigators said Sprauve’s vehicle struck a civilian vehicle during the chase. No one was hurt as a result of that crash.
Sprauve was taken into custody after he was treated at Aventura Hospital. His right hand bandaged, he appeared in bond court Monday afternoon. He is facing several charges, including attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer.
Police said Sprauve was wearing a bulletproof vest and had two guns when he was taken into custody. “We recovered two firearms off of this subject, as well as a bulletproof vest, so we’re trying to verify where the bulletproof vest came from, what were his intentions in wearing that and having two firearms on his person,” Brooklen said.
He remains in police custody with no bond.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating both shootings.
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