The Miami Fire Rescue Department announced Monday that they would relieve a firefighter of duty after he had punched a handcuffed man who had spit on him.
An arrest form released Tuesday reports that Antonio Cruz, 29, had cocaine and heroin in his system when he spit on a Miami Fire Rescue lieutenant on Oct. 15, Local 10 reported. Police officers said Cruz was “agitated and screaming” during the incident. (RELATED: ‘Is That OK At Penn State?’: Tucker Slams University After Protester Spits On Comedian)
#EXCLUSIVE: Dramatic surveillance video captured the moment a City of Miami firefighter repeatedly punched a patient who was handcuffed to a stretcher at Jackson Memorial Hospital back in October. https://t.co/DkHsoNBnoD
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) December 13, 2022
“The spit made contact to the right side of victim’s face,” an officer wrote in the report, describing the lieutenant as the victim, Local 10 reported.
The Miami Fire Rescue had transported Cruz from Northwest 22 Court and 28 Street in Miami’s Allapattah area and took him to Jackson Memorial Hospital, the report states, according to Local 10. He was handcuffed when the incident occurred. Police arrested Cruz for aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer.
The firefighter was relieved of duty after the incident, which the Miami Fire Rescue Department is continuing to investigate, the Miami Fire Rescue Department announced Monday.