Police Officer Alejandro Giraldo, responsible for brutally assaulting Dyma Loving on March 5 in Miami Dade County, has been officially charged with first-degree misdemeanor battery and third-degree felony official misconduct, according to a statement from her lawyer. The disgraced cop turned himself in to authorities this morning.
For weeks, activists in the Miami area have been putting pressure on State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to charge Giraldo in the case. A Color of Change petition demanded the state lock the officer up, while another petition from UltraViolet called for the Miami Dade Police Department to fire Giraldo as soon as possible.
“The Miami-Dade Police Department’s treatment of Dyma Loving was inexcusable and racist, and yet has gone entirely unpunished,” read a statement from Color of Change Criminal Justice Campaign Director, Clarise McCants. “Her violent March 5th arrest, after calling the police for protection, is a powerful example of the all too common, yet oft-overlooked phenomenon of police brutality against Black women.”
Loving, a 26-year-old Miami area resident called 911 after her neighbor, Frank Tumm, verbally assaulted and pulled a gun out on her. “He pulled the gun out on me and told me that he would blow my burned Black ass face off my f–king neck, Loving told ESSENCE exclusively after the incident.
When she turned to law enforcement for help, responding officer Giraldo, further victimized the young mom of two by physically assaulting her. The altercation was caught on video.
In a statement following the formal charges against Giraldo, Loving’s attorney Justin Moore said, “We want to applaud the State Attorney’s Office for seeking formal charges for Officer Alejandro Giraldo, the lead perpetrator of the crimes committed against Dyma Loving. It is well known that police officers rarely face criminal liability for criminal behavior in this country. And although Dyma has expressed relief that Officer Giraldo has been charged for his abhorrent behavior on March 5, 2019, she does believes that the battery she experienced that day should have amounted to a felony and that other officers present, including but not limited to Officer J.F. Calderon, should be facing similar charges.”
