Miami-Dade Police Department Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III was seriously injured in Tampa and was undergoing surgery early Monday morning, according to the department.
In a statement, the department said Ramirez suffered a “critical injury” in the Tampa area. The department did not provide further details about the incident and said more information would be released when it became available. The statement says the Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Department of Law Enforcement are investigating. None of those agencies had released further information as of Monday morning.
The Miami Herald, citing unnamed police sources, reported that Ramirez stopped somewhere on a highway between Tampa and Miami and shot himself. The circumstances leading up to the incident were not immediately clear, according to the Herald’s report.
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) July 24, 2023
Ramirez was in Tampa attending the Sheriff’s Summer Conference, the Florida Sheriff’s Association’s largest event, the Herald reported.
In May, Ramirez announced he would run for sheriff in 2024 as a Democrat. According to the Miami-Dade County website, Ramirez joined Miami-Dade police in 1995. He became the department’s director in 2020 and also serves as chief of security and emergency response, according to the website.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
