Fausto Lopez, the police officer who was arrested for reckless driving for speeding down the Florida’s Turnpike at 120 mph, was fired by the Miami Police Department Thursday, a police spokesperson confirmed.
Lopez, who was pulled over at gunpoint by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper on Oct. 11, 2011, pleaded no contest in April and was ordered to do 100 hours of community service and pay $3,300 for the cost of prosecution. He was also suspended for a month from the force.
But Lopez speeded some 53 times on South Florida highways in September and October 2011, as Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa details in his official reprimand.
On Sept. 1, 2011, Lopez averaged 105 mph on the 19.8-mile stretch between the Golden Glades and Cypress Creek North toll booths, exceeding the speed limit by 40 mph, Orosa wrote.
On Oct. 12, Lopez averaged 90 mph as he drove the 7.4 miles between the Sawgrass Deerfield and Cypress Creek South toll booths, said the reprimand, which relied on SunPass records.
The highest recorded speed for Lopez came on Sept. 4, when he averaged 120.86 mph between Golden Glades and Cypress Creek North, Orosa wrote.
“Due to Officer Fausto Lopez’ Reckless Driving practice and pattern by continuously excessively exceeding the speed limit and demonstrating a willful and wanton disregard for his safety and the safety of persons and property of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, I recommend he receive this reprimand and that his employment with the City of Miami Police be Terminated,” the police chief wrote.
On the form, Lopez, 36, disagreed with the facts as stated and disagreed with the recommended penalty.
36 Speeding Officers To Be Punished
The reprimand was distributed in June and Lopez signed it in July, the form shows.
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Orosa noted that Lopez violated various Miami Police departmental orders and civil service rules and regulations.
Internal Affairs investigators recommended that Lopez be fired in a report released in July.
In his official notice to Lopez about his firing this week, Orosa told him he has 15 days to file an appeal to the Civil Service Board if he wants to do so.
