A Miami Beach Police officer accused of hitting a tourist and lying on an arrest document back in 2021 is no longer facing a battery charge.
A Miami Beach Police officer accused of hitting a tourist and lying on an arrest document back in 2021 is no longer facing a battery charge.
On Tuesday, state attorneys announced they will not be prosecuting Steven Serrano on the battery charge. Initially, they accused him of participating in beating a tourist in July 2021.
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State attorneys still want to prosecute him for allegedly lying on an arrest document. Serrano now only faces an official misconduct charge for the incident.
“Nolle pros (terminating a prosecution) was nothing more than a delayed action," Serrano’s attorney, Douglas Williams, told NBC6. "It should have been done a long time ago.”
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Miami Beach Police say they tried to ticket Dalonta Crudup, a tourist visiting Miami, for parking his scooter illegally. Crudup fled the scene and police claim he assaulted an officer on the way to the Royal Palm Hotel.
Crudup ran inside the hotel lobby, where video released by the State Attorney’s Office showed Miami Beach Police officers striking and slamming him while trying to arrest him. Crudup was eventually arrested for his actions, but charges were dismissed this year.
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In total, five officers were initially arrested in connection to Crudup’s and Vaughn’s beating. Jose Perez pleaded guilty.
Officials charged Serrano for allegedly committing battery on Khalid Vaughn, another tourist visiting South Florida. Vaughn stumbled upon a chaotic scene inside the hotel lobby where the officers were caught on video beating up Crudup. Vaughn began to film, however, officers approached him and allegedly struck him.
NBC6 was the first to report back in May that Judge Betsy Alvarez-Zane dropped David Rivas and Robert Sabater’s charges because of a lack of jurisdiction and evidence.
In May, Kevin Perez was found guilty by a jury of a battery charge for hitting Crudup. However, Judge Alberto Millian granted Perez his motion for a new trial after he believed there was a quid pro quo from the State Attorney’s Office in exchange for Crudup’s testimony in Perez’s trial. The judge stated jurors should have known Crudup was going to get his Miami-Dade criminal charges in connection to this incident dropped.
Perez’s new trial is scheduled for next week.
In court, Williams told Judge Mavel Ruiz he is ready for trial, which could happen in December.
