HIALEAH, Fla. – When Hialeah Police Department officers responded to a Ross, Oney Montero Diaz was on the floor. Store employees couldn't get him to stand up or to leave the store.
Montero Diaz said on Friday that he was having a medical emergency and what he needed was help from paramedics. He said he wasn't in a condition to tell the officers what was wrong with him. The officers decided to arrest him and deployed a Taser in the process.
A shopper recorded video showing four officers working to arrest the man, who they reported was resisting. Montero Diaz said he is diabetic.
"My blood sugar dropped and it was almost like I was in a daze or in shock," Montero Diaz said in Spanish,
Diaz Montero said he remembers walking up to the cash register to pay for a pair of jeans when he blacked out.
"My vision blurs. I can't hear, I can't see anything," he said. "When the employees were questioning me, I assume they got scared and they called 911."
The encounter with police officers left him with bruises to his wrists and face. After watching the video, he said police officers went too far and should have been helping him.
"I never imagined that they would act that way," Diaz Montero said about the way police officers treated him.
Lt. Eddie Rodriguez, a spokesman for the department released a statement about the incident saying Diaz Montero was "irate and battered an officer." He also said the department's administration and professional compliance bureau was investigating the incident.
According to the arrest report, Diaz Montero pushed an officer in the chest. But Diaz Montero said he doesn't remember doing that. He said eventually someone tested his blood sugar at the scene, but he was never given any medication. He now plans to hire an attorney.