POLICE

Captain scolded for gun incident

Miami Herald, The (FL) - July 9, 2008

Author/Byline: DAVID OVALLE dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

Edition: Final
Section: Metro & State
Page: 7B
Abstract: A Miami Beach police captain was disciplined for pulling a gun on a detective during a training exercise.
DAVID OVALLE dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
A Miami Beach police captain has been disciplined for pulling a gun on a detective in an impromptu training exercise shortly before an
undercover prostitution sting at a luxury South Beach hotel.
Capt. Richard Weissman, 41, was ordered to attend firearm training, according to an internal-affairs report.
The incident, labeled as a violation of proper handgun rules, happened in November but was only recently made public through a public
records request. Weissman, who has since been transferred from special investigations to the technical services division, declined to
comment Tuesday.
According to a final internal-affairs report, Weissman and detectives were preparing surveillance cameras on Nov. 30 in a room at a South
Beach hotel, which police declined to name because it is still used for undercover stings. In the hours leading up to the sting, Weissman
had been peppering detectives with what-if scenarios. For example, according to the report, he asked, "What if a prostitute comes in and
tries to rob one of you guys?" and "What if when the prostitute enters the room, she locks the door?"
Such stings are normally supervised not by captains but by sergeants and lieutenants, according to the internal affairs report.
At one point, Weissman left the hotel room, closed the door and then knocked.
When the detective opened, Weissman "entered the room, took a few steps, reached inside his fanny pack around his waist area and
drew his handgun," pointed it at the detective and asked, "What are you going to do now?"
"If he was trying to prove a point, he definitely got the point across and scared me," the veteran detective, whose name was not released
because he works undercover, told internal-affairs Sgt. Elbys Camacho.
The detective assumed the gun was loaded, though Weissman had earlier unloaded the weapon and secured it by placing a wire tie
through the barrel.
The captain later said he had been worried the detectives "were not properly verbalizing the actions they would take in an emergency
situation." He later apologized.
Record: 641772
Copyright: Copyright (c) 2008 The Miami Herald