Miami police officer arrested on DUI, drug charges in Miami Beach
Christopher Vital arrested
early Thursday morning
Author: Peter Burke, Managing
Editor, pburke@local10.com
Hatzel Vela, Reporter
Miami cop fired after DUI, drug
arrest on Miami Beach
MIAMI -
A Miami police officer has been
arrested in Miami Beach on suspicion of drunken driving and drug possession.
Miami Beach police spokeswoman
Vivian Thayer said Christopher Vital was arrested early Thursday morning.
Vital, 29, faces charges of
DUI, driving with a suspended license, possession of narcotics and criminal
mischief.
According to the police report,
Vital was driving his BMW on the MacArthur Causeway when he sped past several
emergency vehicles, reaching a speed of 100 mph.
When police conducted a traffic
stop, they found marijuana, heroin and cocaine in Vital's car.
Police said Vital also banged
his head on the arresting officer's partition while in the back of the cruiser,
claiming he was going to blame the officer for his head injuries. Police said
Vital also shattered the rear passenger side window of the cruiser and
threatened to shoot himself.
Stefanie Malvin, who was a
passenger in Vital's car, was also arrested on drug charges.
Last November, Vital was
arrested on a charge of disorderly intoxication during a Miami Dolphins game at
Sun Life Stadium.
When asked if he had any
comment about Vital's arrest, Javier Ortiz, president of the Miami Fraternal
Order of Police, simply said, "Pray for him."
"The Miami Police
Department frowns upon the behaviors alleged in the arrest of Christopher
Vital," Maj. Delrish Moss said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
"As a member of law enforcement, Mr. Vital is held to a high standard and
he is now the subject of an internal administrative investigation. He has been
relieved of his police duties without pay pending his termination."
Moss went on to say that the
Miami Police Department "will exercise its right to take appropriate
actions based on the administrative findings. This holds true even if he is
found not guilty in a criminal proceeding."
