By Associated Press - Saturday, May 8, 2021

MIAMI (AP) - A Miami-Dade police lieutenant who was also a high-ranking member of a police union has been arrested on rape charges.

The Miami Herald reports the alleged incident took place last month at a police union gala in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Jail records show John Jenkins was arrested late Friday on two counts of sexual battery. He was released Saturday.

The newspaper says Jenkins resigned last week as executive vice president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association.

“I’m shocked and extremely disturbed by the charges,” the union president Steadman Stahl told the newspaper on Saturday.

Alfredo Ramirez, director of Miami-Dade Police Department, said he suspended Jenkins after being notified of the case.

“Now learning of his arrest, it has brought a sense of disappointment that is immeasurable,” Ramirez said in a statement. “This is a serious matter, and I am confident that the City of Palm Beach Gardens Police Department will continue to carry out a thorough investigation.”

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