MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – On Thursday a jury convicted a Miami-Dade police officer of felony battery and official misconduct for tackling a woman to the ground during an arrest and then writing a false arrest report.
The incident occurred in March of 2019 when police responded to a call from Dyma Loving. Loving called 911 to report that a man had pointed a shotgun at her.
Body camera video of the encounter between Loving and Officer Alejandro Giraldo shows the officer becoming angered with Loving and another female as they try to explain what the neighbor did.
At one point Giraldo tells Loving he doesn’t “like her tone.” The two women continue to describe the encounter between them and the neighbor for some time. Giraldo seems to become more and more angered with Loving’s tone until he escalates the situation and takes his handcuffs out.
Cellphone video shows Giraldo shoving Loving against a fence before tackling her to the ground and arresting her. The video sparked outrage and Giraldo was suspended after the video circulated on social media in March 2019.
Loving was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence. Those charges were later dropped.
Giraldo’s arrest report inaccurately said that Loving was “causing a scene” and was being “uncooperative,” prosecutors said.
Thursday, jurors deliberated for a little over an hour and convicted Giraldo of battery and official misconduct.
He faces up to five years in prison at sentencing.
