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Former Miami Police Officer Christopher Vital might have been 2014’s craziest local cop of the year, but he won’t face any charges. Instead, he’ll be forced to hang up his badge for good.
In September, Vital was driving his BMW late at night with a lady friend when he roared past an accident scene on the MacArthur Causeway. Miami Beach cops gave chase, and Vital’s speed reached the triple digits.
He eventually stopped but didn’t give up.
Officers noticed his speech seemed slurred and his eyes bloodshot. A 25-year-old woman sat in the passenger seat. Marijuana and cocaine were found in the car, while another substance suspected to be heroin was also located.
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The Miami Beach cops cuffed Vital and placed him in the back of a cruiser, where he began violently slamming his head against the partition.
“I’m going to blame you for the injuries on my head,” he shouted. “I’m going to say you did this to me, and I’m going to hunt you down, you and your family, and I’m gonna have your job.”
Vital then kicked out the cruiser’s rear window. “It doesn’t matter what you do to me — as soon as I get out, I’m going to shoot myself,” he later shouted.
After all of that, Vital will not face any criminal charges.
According to the Miami Herald, prosecutors decided to drop all felony charges as long as Vital agreed not to fight his firing from the department and gave up his Florida Department of Law Enforcement credentials.
Vital also pleaded “no contest” to related misdemeanor charges, but the judge agreed to keep those off his record.
His lawyer told the Herald that Vital is pursuing a graduate degree and will enter the private sector. This is actually the second time Vital has gotten a slap on the wrist for incredibly odd behavior. In 2013, he became so unruly at a Miami Dolphins game that it took five officers to wrestle him to the ground. He got off by agreeing to pretrial diversion and a 100-hour suspension without pay.
Meanwhile, Vital’s female passenger still faces charges for cocaine possession.
Who said cops aren’t a protected class held to lower standards in a court of law?
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