TAMPA, Fla. – New details have been released Wednesday, revealing what Florida Highway Patrol troopers discovered after Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III shot himself on Interstate 75 just south of Tampa.
According to the FHP report, Ramirez and his wife, Jody, were driving in a black 2022 Ford Expedition, which she identified as “his police vehicle.”
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The trooper noted that the SUV was parked on the outside shoulder of I-75 southbound near mile marker 244, with “blood droplets outside of the front driver’s side door.” The driver’s side window had a bullet hole that “appeared to come from inside the vehicle,” according to the report.
Ramirez was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment, and the trooper noted his wife had dried blood on her and “was covered from head to toe.”
According to the incident report, Ramirez’s wife stated they were “involved in a dispute while driving from the [Sheriff’s] conference” before Ramirez attempted suicide.
Ramirez was injured on July 23 after Tampa police were called to a hotel where the Florida Sheriff’s Association conference was being held. Police had been called after a witness reported a couple fighting in front of the hotel, with the man pulling out a gun and threatening to harm himself.
Ramirez told the police officers during a short interrogation that he was not suffering from suicidal or homicidal ideations, according to the bodycam video released. The officers let the couple go.
Earlier this week, a Miami-based law firm released a statement on behalf of the couple, disputing the witness’s claim that Ramirez held a gun to his head outside the hotel before shooting himself.
“Jody strongly wishes to emphasize that at no time was there even a hint of physical aggression between her and Freddy,” the statement read. “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. 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.”
Ramirez underwent multiple surgeries after the shooting and is continuing to heal from his injuries.
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