By Charles Rabin
Miami Herald
MIAMI — An undercover Miami-Dade County police officer was nearly shot Wednesday night as he rounded a street corner running, AR-15 in hand, and was fired upon by one of his own.
The single bullet missed and the officer quickly identified himself.
“The officer thought he was a bad guy. We are grateful nobody was hurt,” said Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez.
The errant shot was the result of an undercover sting operation by Miami Beach police, who were tailing a murder suspect. Though the suspect was eventually taken into custody, the sting went sideways when undercover Beach cops radioed dispatch for a Miami-Dade uniformed officer to help in the arrest.
Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said Beach cops working in unincorporated Miami-Dade spotted Diori Barnard Jr. get into a car. He’s wanted for strong-armed robbery and second-degree murder in Broward County.
The officers followed him to Northwest 111th Street and Seventh Avenue, radioing dispatch for help, Zabaleta said. It was just before 10 p.m. They wanted a uniformed Miami-Dade cop to detain Barnard. The belief, Zabaleta added, was that the suspect was less likely to flee or become confrontational with a uniformed officer than undercover cops who had to identify themselves.
But before the uniformed officer took Barnard into custody, an undercover Miami-Dade officer in a black shirt who heard the radio request raced to the scene. When he turned a corner, Zabaleta said, the uniformed officer saw a man in a black T-shirt running quickly with an assault weapon — so he opened fire on him.
Barnard was eventually taken into custody without incident. He remained jailed at Turner Guilford Knight correctional center Thursday and was denied bond. Miami-Dade Police will investigate the non-contact shooting incident.
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