MIAMI (WSVN) - A City of Miami Police officer was caught on cellphone video getting shocked by a Taser fired by his partner while taking a man into custody in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.
The incident happened at the corner of Southwest 10th Avenue and Fourth Street, Jan. 4.
Police said the suspect, later identified as Lazaro Perez, was one of two arrested for being part of a drug transaction.
In the cellphone video, the man on the ground could be seen struggling with two officers. An officer could be seen using his Taser on the man, but also accidentally zapping his partner with the department-issued stun gun.
The officer who was Tasered then could be seen falling to the ground and yelling in pain from the voltage of the stun gun.
However, the officer instantly recovered and returned to help with the apprehension.
Soon after, multiple police sirens could be heard blaring through the streets. The video then shows multiple officers flooding the chaotic scene.
Emilio and Raymond Gutierrez said they’re more likely to enjoy their neighborhood since the area feels safer and has less crime than in the past.
“Some cops got Tasered over there,” Raymond Gutierrez said.
“It’s been better, man,” Emilio Gutierrez said. “You see me playing dominoes out here, right? It’s super better. I didn’t go outside before. The cops are here every day, every time. They go around and do what they need to do.”
“It’s good the cops are doing something about the neighborhood to clean it up,” said Raymond.
However, resident Luis Vasquez said he does not feel the same way.
When asked if there are a lot of drugs in the neighborhood, he said, “Yes, a lot of drugs: crack, heroin, weed.”
In the end, Perez and Rigoberto Castillo were arrested on drug-related and multiple other charges.
Castillo remains behind bars at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade and was granted $6,000 bond.
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