MIAMI (WSVN) – A City of Miami Police officer who was accused of trying to kick a suspect in the head will now face assault charges.
Officer Mario Figueroa has been charged after video appeared to show him kicking car theft suspect David Suazo in the head during his arrest.
In the video, Suazo could be seen lying on the ground while an officer put handcuffs on him. That’s when Figueroa could be seen running up and appearing to kick Suazo in the head.
In body camera video that was taken while Suazo was in the hospital waiting to be checked out for chest pains, he could be heard berating Figueroa for unsuccessfully trying to kick him in the head.
“Missed on the kick. Learn how to aim my boy,” Suazo said.
To which Figueroa replied, “If I wanted to kick you, you know, I would have kicked you, right?”
“If you wanted to, you would’ve got your [expletive] shot,” Suazo is heard saying.
“Exactly, but I didn’t kick you. I didn’t want to kick you. I need to hear you comply,” Figueroa responds. “I needed you to comply, so me pretending to kick you got you to comply, right?”
Police said Figueroa was relieved of duty the same day the video surfaced, and the department has begun the termination process.
“The Miami Police Department would like to assure the community that it will not tolerate any transgressions against the badge its officers are meant to wear with honor, and remains committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of ethics, transparency and accountability,” said Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina in a statement.
Figueroa is being charged with one count of assault, a second degree misdemeanor. If the kick had landed, officials said Figueroa would have been charged with battery.
“Officer Mario Figueroa can have no excuse for the alleged actions seen on the initial videotape,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “This community demands respect for all individuals taken into custody. Any evidence of abuse, which is also evidence of a crime, will assist us in going forward with this case.”
An arraignment date has not yet been set.