The head of the Miami police officer’s union was stripped of his gun and reassigned to desk duty this week after a months-long internal probe yielded new allegations against the embattled cop.
Lt. Javier Ortiz, the president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, has been relieved of duty and administratively reassigned with pay, the Miami Police Department said Friday, according to the local CBS affiliate.
The decision was announced after a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge granted a restraining order against the officer on Wednesday this week, prompting the police department to reclaim his service weapon pending future proceedings.
“He got served with a restraining order and in the restraining order it says he can’t have any firearms,” Rodolfo Llanes, the chief of police, told the Miami Herald. “So he turned in his firearms and he’ll be relieved of duty [with pay] until his court date.”
The restraining order itself stems from allegations said to have happened on Tuesday this week after the officer appeared before the department’s Civilian Investigative Panel as it concluded its investigation concerning his prior conduct — namely the alleged cyber-bullying last year of a local woman, Claudia Castillo.
Ms. Castillo recorded herself confronting an unidentified Miami-Dade officer accused of speeding, and the video quickly went viral upon being published online in early 2016. It also drew fire from Mr. Ortiz, however, and triggered him to take action on social media in the form of posting Ms. Castillo’s personal information, including her cell phone number and photographs.
The Civilian Investigative Panel concluded during Tuesday’s hearing that Mr. Ortiz broke department policy by posting the woman’s personal information and said it would forward its findings to the chief of police.
After the hearing, however, Ms. Castillo said the officer resumed his pattern of harassment almost instantly.
“Javi was obviously angered by the decision,” Ms. Castillo wrote in a restraining order request afterwards, “and when I attempted to leave City Hall, he followed me toward the parking lot.”
“Javi was visibly upset and was stopped by several individuals including police officers who were present. I had to be escorted to my car because I was in fear for my safety,” she added.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Tanya Brinkley granted the motion later Wednesday, paving the way for the officer’s reassignment pending the results of a future hearing currently scheduled for April 5.
“We’ll present high-ranking officers not part of the union or beholden to Javier Ortiz, and everyone will see that his conduct that day was gentlemanly,” Miami FOP attorney Robert Buschel told WSVN.
Mr. Ortiz may still perform administrative duties as union president interim, the police chief told the Miami Herald. Miami Police Department policy requires any officer served with a restraining order to surrender their service weapon, the Herald reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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