MIAMI – The exchange was tense from the start between a 22-year-old woman and a Miami police officer as seen on his own body-worn camera in November of 2020.
The Civilian Investigative Panel met on Tuesday and determined there were more officers responsible and recommended they be disciplined for their use of the bodywork cameras. The panel said the members were “shocked” and “even disgusted” during the probe.
“Help, help, don’t touch me!” the woman, identified as Julissa Burgos, said.
Eventually, Burgos was arrested for vandalism, and once she was in the back seat of the police cruiser, things escalated after she allegedly spits on the arresting officer.
Burgos was punched and then pulled by the neck out of the car and slammed to the pavement, rendering her unconscious for 15 minutes.
“That’s not good police work in any place in the world, and obviously you saw the reaction from this fellow officers -- that isn’t something that they authorize either or that they would want to be a part of by any means,” said Rodney Jacobs, of the Civilian Investigative Panel.
As paramedics were called to the scene, Officer Miguel Hernandez seemed to defend his own violent actions.
“You didn’t have to do that!” one witness yelled at him.
“She spit in my [expletive] face!” Hernandez responded.
Burgos was arrested on charges of assault on a police officer and criminal mischief.
The reactions of fellow officers were immediate and so were the reactions of other witnesses, who all admonished Hernandez.
Hernandez resigned from the Miami Police Department in June 2021 following an Internal Affairs investigation. Police said Burgos is not cooperating with the investigation.