A report about a suspicious person in Miami Beach, Florida, possibly carrying a handgun ended with a police officer accidentally shooting a fellow cop. And it turned out the only thing the man was carrying was a metallic lighter.
Law&Crime obtained police body camera footage from the incident as well as the report from the State Attorney’s Office that cleared Miami Beach Police Officer Shenaqua Stringer of criminal wrongdoing. According to the report, the police department received a 911 call shortly before 12:30 p.m. on March 2 about a man walking on the Venetian Causeway who may be armed with a gun.
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Stringer was the first officer on scene and saw the man walking and saw him “reaching into his right pocket and retrieve an unknown object,” the report said. Stringer took out her gun and approached the man. Meanwhile, Officer Fabio Bolanos drove up in his patrol car from the opposite direction. He ran up to Stringer and the man as she was taking him to the ground while holding her gun in her right hand. Bolanos started to help Stringer gain control of the man. Suddenly the gun went off, hitting Bolanos in the right calf.
The injured officer is in obvious pain as Stringer calls for help.
Background: Miami Beach police Officer Shenaqua Stringer wrestles with a man thought to have a gun. (MBPD). Inset: Officer Fabio Bolanos, who was accidentally shot by Stringer (Miami Beach Police FOP).
“Why’d you do that?” the subject at the center of the call says as he’s lying face-first on the ground. “Ain’t nobody do nothing. You f—ed up his leg. He’s bleeding a lot.”
Blood pools around the man.
“Hey,” he shouts. “Blood is dripping on me.”
Bolanos continues to moan in agony as he and Stringer try to put him in handcuffs.
“Hurry up because I need a tourniquet,” Bolanos said.
“I know,” Stringer responds. “Hold on.”
Eventually, help arrives and a cop puts the tourniquet around Bolanos’ leg to slow the bleeding. Officers pick up Bolanos and place him in the back of the cruiser. During the ride to the hospital, Bolanos asks the officer driving if he can borrow his phone so he can call his wife.
“I got shot in the leg,” Bolanos tells his wife. “I’m OK though, they’re taking me to Ryder Trauma right now. I’m OK, though. Alright, babe? I love you.”
Bolanos arrived at the hospital where he underwent treatment. Back at the scene, cops did not find any gun, rather a metallic lighter. The man was apparently going through a mental health crisis and never faced charges associated with the incident.
Miami ABC affiliate WSVN, which first obtained the body camera video, reports that Bolanos made a full recovery and is back on the job. But he is considering a lawsuit against the City of Miami Beach, the outlet reported.
As for Stringer, the Miami Herald reported in March that she was transferred to a different part of the agency after the incident. An internal affairs investigation is ongoing.
