MIAMI (WSVN) - It’s been about a year and a half since a difficult-to-watch arrest took place in the City of Miami.
Since then the Miami Police Officer seen grabbing a woman by the neck and throwing her to the ground while she was handcuffed, has resigned from the force.
“I think he should have been fired. He shouldn’t have been allowed to resign, and that has to change,” said CIP member George Ray.
On Tuesday, a Civilian Investigative Panel, or CIP, for the City of Miami met to discuss the actions of former officer Miguel Hernandez and the findings of their investigation.
“We were obviously very surprised, stunned, shocked, even disgusted to witness what we saw on that body-worn footage,” said a member of the panel.
The panel agreed with the police department’s internal affairs investigation findings that said Hernandez had used excessive force, but because the panel only has jurisdiction over sworn police officers and Hernandez resigned last year, they can’t really do anything moving forward, despite the whole interaction being caught on video.
7News was told this started when officer Hernandez was called to remove Julissa Burgos from a Valero gas station on Northwest Seventh Street and 17th Avenue back in November of 2020.
After that, the internal affairs investigation states, “Ms. Burgos walks past officer Hernandez’s vehicle, appears to turn her cigarette off on his vehicle and continues to walk across the the street.”
“That’s right, you’re going to get up and clean up my car,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez made multiple comments about Burgos having to go back and clean his car. Eventually, he and another officer try to arrest her.
Bodycam footage showed how they struggled to detain her as she screams for help.
Burgos later wrote in the official complaint that she was having a seizure.
“So, when you have epilepsy because, because there is a chemical imbalance, you are unaware of your actions,” said CIP member Merdochey Lafrance.
When the officers eventually got her into a police cruiser, things took a turn for the worse.
Burgos is seen spitting at officer Hernandez From a certain angle, he then appeared to punch her. His body cam shows him grabbing Burgos by the neck and throwing her to the ground.
She immediately seemed to lose consciousness, as a fellow officer screamed at Hernandez for what he did. Soon, more witness were seen furious with the officer’s actions.
A gruesome photo showed what Burgos looked like after what happened.
“The evidence in this case was pretty overwhelming,” said CIP member Jason Bloch.
The CIP also suggested writing a letter to get the state attorney involved again.
Even though the state attorneys office already told 7News this case was closed after their staff spoke to Burgos last year.
“The woman and her father had asked them not to. They apparently did not want to relive that, so from the SAO, that’s what they shared with me why they didn’t prosecute,” said CIP attorney John Quick.
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