MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Former Democratic candidate for Florida governor, Andrew Gillum, was involved in a suspected crystal meth incident early Friday morning in Miami Beach, authorities said.
According to a police report, Miami Beach Fire Rescue crews were called to a hotel at 1100 West Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. regarding a suspected drug overdose.
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Authorities said Gillum, 40, and two other men were inside the hotel room at the time.
According to the report, one of the men, Aldo Mejias, 56, told officers that he gave Travis Dyson, 30, his credit card information to rent a hotel room for the night.
Police said Dyson rented the room around 4 p.m. Thursday and Mejias arrived at the room later that night, at which time he found Dyson and Gillum inside the hotel room, appearing to be under the influence of an unknown substance.
According to the police report, Dyson opened the hotel room door and then immediately walked to the bed and collapsed in a prone position.
He told officers Dyson was having difficulty breathing and began vomiting on the bed before collapsing a second time, the report stated.
He said he began conducting chest compressions on Dyson before calling 911.
According to the police report, officers who responded to the hotel tried to speak with Gillum but he was too inebriated.
Fire Rescue personnel took Dyson to Mount Sinai Medical Center in stable condition.
They returned to the hotel to check on Gillum, who authorities said was stable and whose vitals were now normal.
According to the police report, officers found three small clear bags inside the hotel room containing suspected crystal meth.
The suspected narcotics were impounded as evidence.
Authorities said Gillum left the hotel room and "returned to his residence without incident.”
Gillum released a statement, saying he was at a wedding Thursday night and was drinking, but denied taking any methamphetamines.
“I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends,” Gillum said in the statement. "While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines. I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused our movement.
“I’m thankful to the incredible Miami Beach EMS team for their efforts. I will spend the next few weeks with my family and appreciate privacy during this time.”
Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said the incident “is not being investigated as a criminal matter” at this time.