A veteran Miami-Dade Police officer was arrested on DUI charges after officials said he crashed into another officer while he was allegedly drunk and on-duty.
Officer Victor Montalvo, 43, was arrested Tuesday on charges of driving under the influence and DUI with damage to property or person, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
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According to Miami-Dade Police, Montalvo was on duty and driving west on Southwest 72nd Street in an unmarked Ford Explorer SUV when he rear-ended an occupied and marked police vehicle that was on the same street.
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The other officer was assisting a traffic marking crew and had all emergency equipment activated, an arrest report said.
After the crash, Montalvo "unsteadily" got out of the SUV as the other officer checked on the work crew.
A short time later, the other officer watched as Montalvo reached into the front of his waistband and "draw a semi-automatic firearm, and take what appeared to be a low-ready, prone, tactical-type position with what appeared to be a dazed or confused look on his face," the report said.
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The other officer drew his gun and pointed it at Montalvo and ordered him to drop the pistol, which he did, the report said.
Montalvo was detained and placed in the back of a police car and spontaneously told the other officer "I drank too much," the report said.
When Montalvo refused to perform field sobriety tests, he was arrested, the report said.
According to police, both officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries due to the crash.
"As Chief of Police, I am disheartened by the recent incident involving one of my officers who was arrested for driving under the influence while on duty," Miami-Dade Police Chief Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement. "My officers are subject to the highest standards of conduct, both on and off duty, and this individual's actions do not reflect the core values of our department. The officer has been relieved of duty, and we will continue to work with the State's Attorney's Office throughout the judicial process."
Montalvo, a 20-year veteran of the police department and detective with the Video Forensic Unit, was recognized by the Secret Service back in February of 2023 for his "hard work and dedication."
MDPD made a post on Instagram to congratulate him and in the same post mentioned that in 2022, he was "11th out of 1500 investigators in data processed."
Montalvo was granted a $2,000 bond. Attorney information wasn't available.
