Miami Beach Police Department

Miami Beach police department comes under scrutiny

A former Miami Beach police officer was charged Tuesday with four felonies in an alleged drunken all-terrain vehicle crash that seriously injured two people, one of several incidents within the last two years to stain the popular tourist destination's police force.

By CURT ANDERSON

AP Legal Affairs Writer

A former Miami Beach police officer was charged Tuesday with four felonies in an alleged drunken all-terrain vehicle crash that seriously injured two people, one of several incidents within the last two years to stain the popular tourist destination's police force.

Derik Kuilan, who had been an officer for six years before he was recently fired, is charged with two counts of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury and two counts of reckless driving, also with bodily injury, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. Each charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Kuilan, 30, and another officer had been drinking while on duty at South Beach's Clevelander Hotel with a group of women from Pennsylvania having a bachelorette party, Rundle said. Kuilan invited one of the women to take a ride down the beach on his police ATV. Witnesses said he was traveling at high speeds with no lights just before dawn July 3 when the ATV slammed into Kitzie Nicanor and Luis Almonte, both 29.

"No one in law enforcement, none of us, can ever tolerate the concept of a drunken on-duty police officer," Rundle said. "This officer will be held accountable."

Kuilan surrendered to authorities Tuesday and was released on $30,000 bail. It wasn't immediately clear if he had hired an attorney. Officials at the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter did not return a call seeking comment.

Nicanor remains hospitalized with multiple injuries and is in serious but stable condition, Rundle said. Almonte is recovering from a broken leg. They were on the beach early to watch the sunrise.

The charges were announced a day after Miami Beach officials moved to fire two other police officers accused of taunting and falsely arresting a gay man in 2009. And earlier this year, the city's police department was harshly criticized for a police-involved shooting - captured on amateur video and shown worldwide on TV and the Internet - in which some 100 shots were fired in a fatal confrontation with a motorist during the busy Urban Beach Weekend surrounding Memorial Day.

Miami Beach Police Department Comes Under Scrutiny | News One

MIAMI — A former Miami Beach police officer was charged Tuesday with four felonies in an alleged drunken all-terrain vehicle crash that seriously injured two people, one of several incidents within the last two years to stain the popular tourist destination’s police force.

Derik Kuilan, who had been an officer for six years before he was recently fired, is charged with two counts of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury and two counts of reckless driving, also with bodily injury, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. Each charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Kuilan, 30, and another officer had been drinking while on duty at South Beach’s Clevelander Hotel with a group of women from Pennsylvania having a bachelorette party, Rundle said. Kuilan invited one of the women to take a ride down the beach on his police ATV. Witnesses said he was traveling at high speeds with no lights just before dawn July 3 when the ATV slammed into Kitzie Nicanor and Luis Almonte, both 29.

“No one in law enforcement, none of us, can ever tolerate the concept of a drunken on-duty police officer,” Rundle said. “This officer will be held accountable.”

Kuilan surrendered to authorities Tuesday and was released on $30,000 bail. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had hired an attorney. Officials at the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter did not return a call seeking comment.

Nicanor remains hospitalized with multiple injuries and is in serious but stable condition, Rundle said. Almonte is recovering from a broken leg. They were on the beach early to watch the sunrise.

The charges were announced a day after Miami Beach officials moved to fire two other police officers accused of taunting and falsely arresting a gay man in 2009. And earlier this year, the city’s police department was harshly criticized for a police-involved shooting – captured on amateur video and shown worldwide on TV and the Internet – in which some 100 shots were fired in a fatal confrontation with a motorist during the busy Urban Beach Weekend surrounding Memorial Day.

Police Chief Carlos Noriega said each incident is unrelated. Noriega said the actions of Kuilan and the other officer who was fired for drinking on the job, Rolando Gutierrez, do not reflect deep-seated problems but have damaged the department’s image. Gutierrez is unlikely to face criminal charges.

Miami Beach Memories, A Nostalgic Chronicle of Days Gone by

Forgotten Heroes, Police Officers Killed in Dade County 1895-1995

Bones on the Beach, Mafia, Murder, and the True Story of an Undercover Cop Who Went Under the Covers with a Wiseguy

Employment practices decisions

Youth Violence in America, Recommendations from the Iacp Summit