Miami Beach cop charged in 2021 tourist beating cleared after appeals court decision

A Miami Beach Police officer accused of beating a tourist inside a hotel in 2021 and lying on an arrest document is no longer facing prosecution.

It’s been three years since five Miami Beach police officers were arrested after video showed multiple officers punching and kicking two tourists inside the Royal Palm Hotel.

Officer Steven Serrano was charged with battery and two official misconduct charges in the incident, but since the arrest, Serrano’s battery and one official misconduct charge were dropped.

Prosecutors hoped to prosecute Serrano on the remaining misconduct charge but on Friday, they were forced to drop the charge, clearing the officer from any wrongdoing.

NBC6

The misconduct charge stemmed from Serrano allegedly lying on an arresting document by labelling the victim, Khalid Vaughn, as the aggressor.

Vaughn, a bystander, began filming police beating up another tourist, Dalonta Crudup.

The dismissal comes several months after prosecutors also dropped Serrano’s battery charge. Assistant state attorney William Gonzalez said at the time that the battery charge was dropped because there was a “gray area we wouldn’t be able to overcome with stand your ground," a self-defense law that could provide someone with immunity and justify the use of force.

However for the most recent dismissal, according to documents obtained by NBC6, state attorneys claim they will be unable to prosecute Serrano on the misconduct charge because of a recent opinion from the Third District Court of Appeals.

Earlier this month, the appeals court reversed the conviction of a former Miami-Dade Police officer in a 2019 rough arrest of a woman that was caught on camera.

Despite Alejandro Giraldo being found guilty by a jury in 2022, the appeals court found the conviction should be reversed, noting Giraldo "did not knowingly or intentionally falsify an official record or document," related to the official misconduct charge.

As for Serrano, state attorneys in Miami-Dade claim, “The facts presented to the court in Giraldo and the facts of the case against Steven Serrano are effectively the same.”

Therefore, prosecutors in Serrano’s case believe there is not enough “objective, concrete fact” and the remaining official misconduct charge needed to be dropped.

Serrano nor his attorney did not want to comment on the sudden announcement. His trial was scheduled for June.

Out of the five Miami-Beach officers that initially were arrested after video showed the violent beating, now three officers - Steven Serrano, David Rivas, and Robert Sabater - have been cleared from any criminal prosecution.

Last year, NBC6 reported a judge dismissed Rivas and Sabater’s charges.  

Kevin Perez remains the only officer with a remaining open criminal case. Despite jurors finding him guilty of battery for allegedly punching a tourist, a judge granted him a new trial.

Jose Perez, the fifth officer arrested, pleaded guilty.