Police body camera footage shows Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez getting handcuffed at a hotel in Tampa July 23, 2023, hours before he shot himself.
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.
Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez was handcuffed and questioned after officers responded to reports of a man putting a gun to his head but was let go hours before he shot himself in an attempted suicide, according to new police reports and body camera footage.
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The reports and footage released Wednesday detail Tampa Police's response to the alleged gun incident involving Ramirez back on July 23 at a Marriott hotel, where Ramirez had been attending the Florida Sheriff's Association's annual summer conference.
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According to the reports, an unknown witness had seen Ramirez arguing with his wife, Jody, before Ramirez pulled out a gun and either put it to his head or in his mouth and allegedly said "I'm going to end it all today."
Hotel security was alerted before officers responded to the hotel around 6:30 p.m. and were led to the 12th floor room where Ramirez and his wife had gone, the reports said.
"A verbal argument could be heard in the hallway between an unknown male and female but no specific threats were heard by officers," an officer noted in one report.
Officers approached the room, one with a ballistic shield, as they announced "Tampa Police" and knocked on the door, the reports said.
Jody Ramirez came out of the room, followed by her husband, the reports said.
The reports said Ramirez had to be told multiple times to show his hands because he kept putting them down near his waistline, before he was placed in handcuffs at gunpoint.
“You know I’m the director of the Miami-Dade Police Department?” Ramirez is heard saying in the bodycam footage, before questioning who called the cops.
“I didn’t do anything, I don’t understand,” he said as he was being placed in handcuffs.
Jody Ramirez told the officers she and her husband had been arguing and that they knew how to "push each other's buttons," the reports said.
"She stated that her and her husband were just having a conversation which began downstairs in the street, regarding 'stuff going on' and personal issues," one report read.
She also told officers she had been drinking that day, which she said she normally doesn't do, and at one point asked "Is this real?" the reports said.
"He has plenty of demons from the job, as you guys all are probably aware of," Jody Ramirez said, according to the report. "I know every button to push and I'm pushing them today because I normally don't drink. He got me on Old Fashions (an alcoholic beverage), it's his fault."
She told police at first that she wasn't sure if Ramirez had pulled out a gun, then later said he never pulled a gun out, the reports said.
She said the argument never got physical, and said Ramirez hadn't made threats to harm her, the reports said.
"I explained to her that there was a process which we have to go through. She was understanding and stated, 'I would be 100% truthful, if I was in danger or he was doing something,'" an officer wrote in one report. "I explained that there were cameras out in the area where the argument began, outside the hotel, and explained to her that we didn't want to pull camera footage and see him taking the gun and she stated, 'He has a temper.'"
Ultimately, officers couldn't locate any first-hand witnesses or security footage showing the alleged gun incident, officials said.
And when Ramirez was questioned, he denied pulling out his gun, the reports said.
"The male advised he was armed but did not remove his firearm. I asked the subject if he wanted to harm himself or others and advised he did not. I further asked the subject if he had any suicidal thoughts, and he advised he did not," an officer wrote in one report.
Ramirez was taken out of the handcuffs and released. One report noted he "did not appear to satisfy Baker Act criteria."
But according to the reports, Tampa Police were later contacted by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office lieutenant, who said they'd been advised of the incident and were investigating it. The lieutenant said that they had "independent witnesses" and that they would be placing Alfredo under a Baker Act," the reports said.
Ramirez left the hotel and was driving south on Interstate 75 in Hillsborough when he pulled over and shot himself, authorities said.
In a 911 call released Wednesday, Ramirez's wife is heard pleading for help from the side of the highway.
"Oh my God, help me!" Ramirez's wife is heard screaming. "Help me, help me, help me!"
The 52-year-old 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.
At a news conference after the shooting, 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.
