Miami-Dade police director denies pulling out gun in Tampa, says wife saved his life

In a joint statement with his wife, Miami-Dade County’s police director said he did not pull out his gun during a July 23 argument the couple had in a Tampa hotel, denying the claim that landed him in handcuffs hours before he shot himself on a highway.

“Further, the reckless allegation that he took out his gun prior to checking out from the hotel that evening is false and unsupported by either witnesses or camera footage,” read the statement from Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez and Jody Ramirez released late Sunday night by lawyer Kendall Coffey.

The statement also said that no violence occurred between the couple during the incident, condemning a rumor that wasn’t supported by the police communication and other official accounts made public over the last two weeks.

“Jody strongly wishes to emphasize that at no time was there even a hint of physical aggression between her and Freddy. Nor is there the slightest evidence of such contact – not from Jody, not from a witness and not from any of the various security cameras operating throughout the hotel,” read the statement, released by lawyer Kendall Coffey.

Footage from body cameras worn by Tampa police who cuffed Freddy Ramirez showed him and Jody Ramirez both denying he pulled out his gun, as an unknown witness reported in a chain of event that led to a 911 call at a JW Marriott where they were attending a law enforcement convention.

Officers who questioned the couple determined there was no basis for any further law enforcement action and released Ramirez.

In the hours that followed, Ramirez, a Democratic candidate for sheriff and police director since 2020, offered to resign his county post in a phone call with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and then wounded himself with a gunshot to the head during the couple’s drive back to Miami.

The body-camera footage released last week showed a hotel manager telling police that a guest waiting for an Uber reported seeing a man outside the hotel with his gun at the Florida Sheriffs Association convention.

The witness’s name wasn’t taken and that person couldn’t be found after police responded in force to the Ramirezes’ 12th-floor hotel room. At least one officer had a weapon drawn when police banged on the door, whisking Jody Ramirez away and handcuffing Freddy Ramirez.

Jody Ramirez said to officers: “Is this for real?” Freddy Ramirez told them: “I didn’t do anything.”

Both acknowledged having an argument outside the hotel, but denied it went further than that.

Freddy Ramirez told officers he did not unholster his gun. In questioning by officers, Jody Ramirez initially said she had been drinking and couldn’t remember when asked about her husband pulling out his gun. Pressed, she gave a clearer answer: “I don’t remember him pulling his gun out. At all.”

Freddy Ramirez remains in a Tampa hospital, recovering from the head wound suffered south of Tampa on I-75 sometime after 9 p.m. It’s not known the exact sequence of events surrounding the gunshot, but the weapon was still in the car when Jody Ramirez called 911 for help, according to the recording of the call.

The statement said the wound would have been fatal if Jody Ramirez had not intervened in a moment when the couple were still distraught from the “profoundly disturbing event” of Freddy Ramirez being placed in handcuffs.

“After the seriously troubling and confusing events that had befallen them, during the drive home, with both still bewildered and distraught, Jody was able to grab her husband’s arm so that the resulting injury was serious but not fatal,” the statement read. “She saved Freddy’s life.”

The statement does not address whether Tampa police were wrong in their actions, but called the incident, as captured on the body-camera footage, “profoundly disturbing.”

“Both Jody and Freddy were shocked by the sudden arrival of numerous police officers shortly after 6:30 on that Sunday evening,” the statement read.

“It was even more shocking that Freddy was put in handcuffs. It is evident that being placed in handcuffs is a profoundly disturbing event for any who experiences it,” the statement continued. “It was especially so for such a distinguished leader of law-enforcement, with an unblemished record of more than 28 years of exemplary service in protecting the public.”