Miami-Dade County

Video shows arrest of new Miami-Dade chief resilience officer after he allegedly slapped girlfriend

Curtis Osceola, 35, was booked on charges of misdemeanor battery and resisting an officer without violence to his person after police said they responded to his home in Doral before 3:30 a.m. 

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The newly appointed Miami-Dade chief resilience officer was arrested Friday after he allegedly slapped his girlfriend. NBC6’s Lorena Inclan reports

The newly appointed Miami-Dade chief resilience officer was arrested Friday after he allegedly slapped his girlfriend, according to an arrest report. 

Curtis Osceola, 35, was booked on charges of misdemeanor battery and resisting an officer without violence to his person after police said they responded to his home in Doral shortly before 3:30 a.m. 

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Osceola is a lawyer, the former chief of staff the Miccosukee Tribe and is supposed to lead Miami-Dade County’s resilience team, “which plays a key role in driving solutions to climate challenges – working to implement key resilience initiatives across departments and build public support for projects countywide,” Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s office said in a statement announcing his appointment on Thursday. 

According to the arrest report, police received a call from a woman who provided a partial address and hung up. When they couldn’t reestablish contact, authorities went to the residence on Northwest 42nd Street and Northwest 82nd Avenue, and Osceola allegedly answered the door with blood on his face.

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Police said they gave him multiple commands to step out of the house so they could check him for weapons, but he refused and replied “not going to happen,” according to an arrest report. 

Curtis Osceola, 35,
Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office
Curtis Osceola, 35,

“Osceola then began to tense up and hold on to the door handle of the front door resisting our efforts to pull him out of the doorway,” police said. “Mr. Osceola was then taken into custody in order to check the residence for the female caller.”

Video captured on a doorbell camera shared to NBC6 by Osceola's attorney Patrick Wilson appears to show Osceola opening the door as two officers stand outside. An officer says, "How's it going? What's going on man? Come out, come out, come out."

Then, he adds, "Put your hands, put your hands over here. Come here. Come out."

The officer grabs Osceola's sweater sleeve and pulls him as Osceola says, "Please, please, please don't handle me."

The officer adds, "OK I'm going to check you for weapons. Step out."

"No, I'm at home," Osceola responds in the video.

The officers continue to ask him to step out, and Osceola says, "It's not going to happen."

"Step out, or we're going to take you out," the officer says.

Video captured on a doorbell camera shared to NBC6 by Curtis Osceola's attorney Patrick Wilson appears to show Osceola opening the door as two officers stand outside. An officer says, "How's it going? What's going on man? Come out, come out, come out."

"Guys, guys, guys, really?" Osceola says as authorities pull him out of his doorway and down the steps to the front of the home.

"Yes," the officer says.

Authorities said they then went inside and the woman, who they identified as Osceola's girlfriend of two years, told them that they had an argument about his ongoing divorce with his ex-wife, and the dispute turned physical.

She alleged that Osceola slapped her, and police said she had a fresh scratch on the left side of her neck. 

Osceola reportedly had a laceration to his right ear and “there were various signs of a disturbance inside the residence including a broken glass on the floor,” the arrest report states. 

He was arrested taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without incident, police said. 

In a bond court hearing on Monday, his attorney tried to argue for a standard bond on the count of resisting an officer without violence, stating there was not probable cause.

"He is a respected member of the bar and his community at the Miccosukee tribe. He is a respected colleague of my firm. Above all your honor, this is a case that we have information that the victim is not going to be proceeding with this case and my partner Mr. Patrick Wilson and I are confident that this is a case that will not stand within the next 30 days," attorney Sahara Fonseca said.

Judge Marlene Fernandez-Karavetsos reviewed the affidavit, did find probable cause, and set Osceola's bond at $2,000, or $1,000 for each count, and ordered him to stay away from the victim.

About his arrest, Levine Cava’s office said Monday: 

“Curtis Osceola has informed the administration that he was arrested and released. The situation is currently under review, and for that reason, his starting date will be delayed while the legal process takes course. In the meantime, Miami-Dade County has a strong, well-prepared team at the Office of Resilience that will continue working without interruptions to advance our priorities.”

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