OPA-LOCKA, Fla. – A Florida police sergeant has been charged with battery and arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the agency has announced.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), its agents arrested Sergio Miguel Perez, 35, of Miami Gardens, on one first-degree misdemeanor count of battery. Perez was a sergeant with Opa-Locka Police Department (OLPD) at the time of his arrest, the FDLE said.
According to the FDLE, the investigation began in June 2022 after newly appointed OLPD Chief Scott Israel reportedly asked the FDLE to review an allegation against Perez of excessive force from a September 2020 incident.
Agents said they found that then-Lieutenant Perez intentionally struck the victim multiple times in the head, despite the protests of another law enforcement officer on the scene. Allegedly, he dragged the victim from his residence by his feet, which resulted in the victim striking his head on the concrete steps, the FDLE said.
FDLE previously arrested Perez in January 2022 on an unrelated case. He faces battery charges in that case as well.
Perez was arrested at FDLE’s Miami Regional Operations Center last week. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office, 11th Judicial Circuit.
