Two Miami-Dade Officers Charged In Slapping Of Handcuffed Teen
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Two Miami-Dade police officers have been charged after home surveillance video shows one of them slapping a handcuffed teen as he's being led out of his Allapattah home.
It happened back in March 2018 when Bryan Crespo was arrested for allegedly stealing airbags from cars.
The video shows several officers inside the living room of the house, then Crespo appears shirtless as he is being led out of the house.
Just as Crespo is almost out the door, the video shows Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Manuel Rugueiro slap Crespo's face with his left hand.
On Tuesday, Rugueiro was charged with misdemeanor battery.
Regueiro's attorney told CBS4's Joan Murray he did it because Crespo was about to spit on him.
Officer Alexander Gonzalez was charged with third-degree felony tampering with evidence and misdemeanor petty theft.
Surveillance video from a home across the street reportedly shows him stealing an object covered in a pillowcase.
Investigators believe it was a lithium battery that Gonzalez thought was the hard drive for the Crespo's recording unit.
"It's not a good day for us," said Florida State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "All of us in law enforcement know the importance of trust."
She also said many of the Miami-Dade officers involved in the take down violated trust and the law.
Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said two more officers related to the case were suspended on Tuesday, bringing the total number of officers on paid suspension to four.
"Now both of them, for whatever reason, [showed a] lack of judgement that ruined their careers," said Perez.
The attorney for Crespo, Cam Cornish said they are moving ahead to file a lawsuit against the police department because his civil rights were violated.
"We are heartened that the state attorney is actually filing charges," said Cornish.
