MIAMI (WSVN) - Surveillance video has surfaced showing a man stabbing a City of Miami Police officer working an off duty security detail at Magic City Casino, earlier this year.
According to police, Officer Raul Perez was working off duty at the casino on Jan. 21 when he became involved in a physical altercation with a casino patron, 29-year-old Jose Carvajal-Lopez.
The video shows the altercation. Perez attempted to remove Carvajal-Lopez from the poker room as requested by the casino staff, but he refused to leave. Once the altercation escalated, Carvajal-Lopez managed to stab Perez in the face and neck. In response, the officer shot Carvajal-Lopez in the stomach.
Perez fired a single shot.
“It must have set him off,” said witness George Davis. “He pretty much lashed out at the officer. He turned around and disregarded his authority as if he was no one and pushed him and threw money in the air.”
Perez and Carvajal-Lopez were both taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. They were later released.
Magic City Casino released a statement at that time which read, “The safety of our patrons is paramount. This was a very isolated incident. The on-site presence and expertise of City of Miami Police officers at the casino has allowed us to maintain an outstanding safety and security record. Magic City Casino is proud of their long standing relationship with the City of Miami Police Department and wishes Officer Perez a speedy recovery.”
On Jan. 27, Carvajal-Lopez was charged with attempted murder in the second degree of a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer with violence. His bond was set at $200,000.
“You’re stabbing a police officer in the face, and he continued to try to stab the officer. I mean, it almost got his eye,” said Miami Fraternal Order of Police president Javier Ortiz. “There was nothing else that you could do, except use deadly force.”
Perez is still undergoing care but is back on the street.
On Feb. 19, Caravjal-Lopez had his arraignment hearing where he pleaded not guilty.
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