A police whistle-blower gave the media the video of a fellow Miami Beach, Florida, cop who hauled off and sucker punched an unarmed Black man, rendering the victim unconscious.
The video is also proof that the on-duty officer lied about the violent confrontation in his official report.
Officer Adriel Dominguez failed to accurately detail the accounts of the episode when he returned to the police station, but a fellow officer gave the Miami Herald newspaper footage of the encounter on Dec. 3. Dominguez was taken off patrol duties while the police department conducted an internal investigation and state prosecutors reviewed the case, the Herald reported.
Meanwhile, the officer who broke the “blue wall of silence,” Frederick Dominguez — no relation to Adriel Dominguez — has pleaded with his department for whistle-blower protection from his fellow officers.
Officer Adriel Dominguez responded to a call about a disruptive man at a restaurant in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida, an island suburb of Miami. Dominguez had written in his report that the Black man, Lowell Poitier Jr., 35, clenched his fists and took a fighting stance in the encounter.
Using the oft-repeated line that he was “fearing for his life,” the officer said he punched Poitier.
The video, however, shows something different altogether. It shows the officer grabbing Poitier and knocking the Black man out. Poitier suffered a busted lip and other minor injuries. Yet he wound up charged with misdemeanor assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s outrageous behavior. It’s an assault in broad daylight. He clearly did not take a fighting stance or clench his fist to fight the officer like it says in the report,” stated Michael Pizzi, the attorney representing Frederick Dominguez, told the Miami Herald.
Check out the video from CBS’ YouTube page and let us know what you think.
