(WSVN) - A South Florida man says Miami-Dade Police raided his apartment and left the place a mess. Police didn’t find what they were looking for and no arrests were made. Now Miami-Dade Police are setting the record straight in tonight’s edition of The Lowedown.
Rosh Lowe: “You believe that drugs have been sold out of this house?”
Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Carlos Rosario: “Well, it’s factual. There have been several purchases that have been made out of this residence.”
Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Carlos Rosario is responding to claims that his department raided a Miami Beach apartment searching for drugs and came up empty.
Micheal Valdes voiced his concerns on The Lowedown. He said he was placed in handcuffs, and so was his 60-year-old mother. Valdes and his mom were eventually released.
Micheal Valdes: “They said I was a heroin dealer and I had a heroin lab, which is why they came in with hazmat suits.”
Rosh Lowe: “Have you ever sold drugs or been arrested?”
Micheal Valdes: “Never sold a single drug in my life. No criminal history. I work at Publix.”
Sgt. Carlos Rosario: “Our investigators obtained a legal search warrant to search that apartment.”
Rosh Lowe: “But how does that explain Micheal Valdes’ complaint that he wasn’t the guy you were looking for? And yet he was placed in handcuffs, and so was his mom.”
Sgt. Carlos Rosario: “Well, there are several stages in any investigation. This particular investigation is a complex one, and it deals with a drug that is highly, highly toxic.”
That drug is heroin laced with fentanyl. It has been well documented how this drug is lethal.
Valdes vehemently denied he was selling any drugs out of the apartment, so Miami-Dade Police want to set the record straight in this case. We asked them about the state of the apartment. Micheal Valdes claimed that police went in and just threw everything around. Cops say the apartment was in disarray when they arrived.
Sgt. Carlos Rosario: “I did have a chance to review the video as detectives entered the apartment, and Rosh, I did not see much of a difference from the video in your story and the disarray that I observed in the video of the entry.”
There is bodycam video that has not been released. The video shows cops as they move in to serve the warrant.
Sgt. Carlos Rosario: “These allegations are very serious and anytime that such complaints are brought against the Miami-Dade Police Department, we will investigate it and we will look into them immediately, as we did when we saw it in your story, when we learned of this.”
Cops say Valdes never filed a formal complaint.
Sgt. Carlos Rosario: “There is a mechanism in place for anybody that has a complaint or an allegation against an employee of the Miami-Dade Police Department.”
Valdes said he was shaken and he had concerns for others in his same situation.
Micheal Valdes: “I think this country needs a lot of work in that area. We are hardworking people who pay our taxes and vote. I don’t do any crime, and we deserve to be treated with respect.”
Rosh Lowe: “What if you have people say, ‘No arrest, and you found no drugs?'”
Sgt. Carlos Rosario: “Well, that’s precisely what the search warrant is for, to search. When we go into a residence lawfully, with a search warrant, we may or may not find drugs.”
This case is ongoing. Miami-Dade Police say they continue to investigate Valdes’ claims, and their criminal investigation continues as well.
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