Miami Police Officer Charged After Facebook Video

MIAMI, FL — The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office charged a Miami police officer with misdemeanor assault Tuesday after video of the officer was posted on Facebook. In the video, Officer Mario Figueroa appears to be attempting to kick a suspect who had already surrendered to a fellow officer. Miami resident Lisa Harrell's video received more than 260,000 views since the May 3 incident.

“Officer Mario Figueroa can have no excuse for the alleged actions seen on the initial videotape," according to State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “This community demands respect for all individuals taken into custody. Any evidence of abuse, which is also evidence of a crime, will assist us in going forward with this case.”

Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said that the department has already begun the process to terminate Figueroa. The chief took swift action to relieve Figueroa of duty within hours of the Facebook post.

"The Miami Police Department would like to assure the community that it will not tolerate any transgressions against the badge its officers are meant to wear with honor, and remains committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of ethics, transparency and accountability," said Colina after the charge was announced.

Harrell's video showed the arrest of alleged car thief David Vladim Suazo. She told Patch that she shot the footage outside the Culmer Place apartments on 8 Street and 7 Avenue at approximately 9:40 a.m. Thursday.

"The guy was running back-and-forth I guess trying to get away from the police," she explained. "And, when he came face to face with the police, put his hands on his head. He got on his knees. Police tell him to lay down and from the rest of the video that's what you see."

The video shows a total of five officers participating in the arrest. One officer can be seen placing handcuffs on a man who is laying face down in a grassy area behind some homes. Figueroa can be seen jumping over the man and abruptly placing his upper body over the man's head.

A woman can be heard in the video telling the officer: "You didn't have to do all that buddy. You tripping."

After reviewing the video, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office concluded that Figueroa took "a large kick at the head of Suazo who was already face down on the ground and motionless."

Prosecutors also reviewed other video that was taken at the hospital where Suazo was treated.

"In later video taken while Suazo was in the hospital awaiting medical review after complaining of chest pains, Suazo berates Officer Figueroa for unsuccessfully trying to kick him in the head: 'Missed on the kick. Learn how to aim my boy,'" Suazo allegedly could be heard telling the officer. "To which Officer Figueroa allegedly replied, 'If I wanted to kick you, you know, I would have kicked you right.'"

It was not immediately clear if that video was taken by the Miami Police Department or if it was hospital surveillance video.

Watch the Facebook video that shows the May 3 arrest of David Vladim Suazo below:

Miami Police Officer Mario Figueroa is seen jumping over a suspect who had already surrendered to a fellow officer. Photo courtesy Lisa Harrell.