Video captures Miami Beach cop punching unarmed black man at restaurant

A Miami Beach police officer has been relieved of patrol duties after a colleague released footage of him sucker punching an unarmed black man earlier this month.

The officer who released the video is asking for whistle-blower protection after he leaked footage of the altercation outside a restaurant on Dec. 3 to the Miami Herald, the newspaper reported Wednesday.

The footage shows Lowell Poitier Jr., a 35-year-old homeless man from Orlando, approaching a group of officers and grabbing something from a menu stand.

An unidentified voice in the video says “watch yourself, bud” a few times. 

Poitier responds with “what, what” before an officer identified as Adriel Dominguez is seen punching the unarmed homeless man in the face and knocking him to the ground.

The video appears to contradict the police report, which states that Dominguez hit Poitier because he was fearing his own safety.

According to the report, police was called into the scene after staff at the restaurant reported that Poitier was refusing to leave.

Poitier was reportedly calling two women “f——-g gringas,” a Spanish word for white women. When officers arrived, he allegedly acted agitated and called them “crackers,” according to the police report.

The report stated that Poitier said “what, what” and “clenched his fist, took a fighting stance and leaned into” Dominguez’ face, who responded by striking Poitier. 

Poitier was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault on a police officer, resisting arrest without violence and disorderly conduct, according to the Herald.

He was treated for a cut lip at the hospital and has since been released on bond.

Officer Frederick Dominguez, who is not related to the cop involved in the altercation, was not at the restaurant during the incident, according to the Herald.

But his attorney, Michael Pizzi, said the 12-year veteran with the police department was uneasy with how the police reports of the incident compared with the video.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s outrageous behavior. It’s an assault in broad daylight,” Pizzi said. “He clearly did not take a fighting stance or clench his fist to fight the officer like it says in the report.” 

Frederick Dominguez also made the video public out of concern that street officers are becoming too aggressive under the guidance of department leaders, Pizzi told The Herald.

Miami Beach Police Chief Dan Oates said that the department’s internal affairs unit and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office will conduct a review. Adriel Dominguez will be on desk duty until it is completed. 

Part of that probe will investigate how the altercation was reported to the higher-ups at the department.

Officers are required to turn in their body cameras at the end of each shift and use-of-force actions are required to be reviewed, the newspaper noted.

The Miami Beach Police Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill.