Editor's note: Due to its disturbing nature, we have decided to only use portions of the 911 call to help provide context to the full story. Reader discretion is advised.
The wife of Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez is heard screaming for help on the side of a highway in a newly-released 911 call from the night of his attempted suicide.
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The 6-and-a-half minute call released Wednesday by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reveals the frantic moments when Ramirez shot himself back on July 23.
"Oh my God, help me!" Ramirez's wife is heard screaming. "Help me, help me, help me!"
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"Listen, I need you to take a deep breath, tell me what happened," the dispatcher tells her. "I can hear you, you don't have to scream ma'am, but we're getting help dispatched."
Authorities said Ramirez had been driving south on Interstate 75 in Hillsborough when he pulled over and shot himself.
The 911 call was placed at 9:16 p.m. near Mile Marker 244 on the highway.
Though portions are redacted, Ramirez's wife is heard telling the dispatcher that Ramirez is awake and that the gun he used is in his vehicle, a Ford Expedition. At one point, she tells the dispatcher that Ramirez went onto the highway.
"He just went out into traffic," Ramirez's wife tells the dispatcher.
"Don't run after him, I need you to stay away from him," the dispatcher responds. "Don't go after him you hear me?"
"No, I need your help and I need it now!" she responds.
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At another point in the call, the dispatcher tells Ramirez's wife to try to get something on his wound.
"We need to lay him flat on his back and remove anything from behind his head. I need you to get a clean dry cloth or towel," the dispatcher says. "I need you to get a clean dry cloth or towel or t-shirt or something so we can put it on the wound and try to control the bleeding."
"He's not letting me," she responds.
The dispatcher continues to advise her to be safe, assuring her that rescue workers are responding, as she continues to scream for help.
"Please, I am safe, he needs help!" she says in the call. "Where are they?"
Ramirez, 52, was rushed to a Tampa-area hospital and underwent surgery. He remains hospitalized, and though authorities said Ramirez didn’t suffer brain damage, he will likely lose his right eye.
Ramirez had been attending the Florida Sheriff's Association's annual summer conference at a Marriott hotel in Tampa when he had been involved in some sort of domestic dispute with his wife, authorities said.
According to Tampa Police, officers had responded to the report of a man with a gun outside the hotel and were given third-hand information alleging a man had pointed a gun at himself, but there were no first-hand witnesses or security camera footage capturing the alleged incident.
Police said officers found Ramirez in a 12th-floor room with Ramirez's wife, who Ramirez said he'd been involved in an argument with.
Ramirez said he had not displayed a firearm and had no intention to harm himself or others, police said. His wife corroborated that they had an argument and that she did not have any concerns about her safety being in danger, police said.
Since there was no evidence of a crime or immediate danger, Ramirez was released at the scene, police said.
A short time later, he suffered the self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
At a news conference, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said she spoke with Ramirez over the phone after the hotel incident but before he shot himself, and said he'd offered his resignation.
"Freddy told me he had made a mistake, that he was prepared to resign," Levine Cava said. "He was very remorseful and I reassured him we would talk the following morning."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol have launched a joint investigation into the incident.
