Miami has some of the wildest nightlife in the country.
Sometimes visitors take things too far.
And an Olympian’s night out on the town in Miami went wrong after this bad police encounter.
Olympic medalist arrested after getting dropped with a stun gun in Miami
Track star Fred Kerley won a silver medal in the 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He followed that performance up with a bronze medal in the 100 meters in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Kerley is one of the fastest men on the planet.
He is one of three people in history to run a sub-10 second 100 meter, a sub-20 second 200 meter, and under 44 seconds in the 400 meter.
The sprinter ran into trouble with the law in Miami Beach, Florida.
A bodycam video captured his arrest by three members of the Miami Beach Police Department.
Here’s Miami Beach Police body camera footage of the takedown and Tasering of Olympic sprinter Fredrick Kerley on South Beach last night, before he was taken to jail on charges of battery on an officer and other offenses. @wsvn #1stOn7 https://t.co/Q6jBhcU1a2 pic.twitter.com/Js7RG2nRHY
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) January 3, 2025
The police officers were in the area investigating another incident.
Kerley was concerned about where his car was parked and tried to speak to the officers about it.
The police report claims that he had “an aggressive demeanor” and went into a “fighting stance” after approaching the officers.
Miami Beach Police Department spokesman Christopher Bess said that Kerley “disregarded lawful commands and physically pushed one of the uniformed officers.”
The video of his arrest shows the officers using “multiple hammer fists” and a stun gun to subdue him.
Kerley was arrested on charges of battery of a police officer, resisting arrest without violence, and disorderly conduct.
His girlfriend, Cleo Rahman, was also arrested for resisting arrest.
A judge threw out the disorderly conduct charge after she found that the police did not have probable cause.
Kerley faces charges in another case from 2024 after police were not able to locate him for domestic violence, strangulation, and robbery against his ex-wife.
Olympic sprinter’s attorney alleges police misconduct
Kerley’s attorney Richard Cooper called Miami Beach a “police state” and claimed the police overreacted during the arrest.
“I can say that Mr. Kerley is a record-breaking athlete who has honorably and successfully represented our nation in the Olympics many times,” Cooper said. “These charges are false and indicate the brutal police state that Miami Beach has become.”
Miami-Dade County Judge Mindy Glazer told the police they could have done a better job of handling the situation.
“Sergeant, this could have been handled a different way,” Glazer said. “And I don’t know if the officers in Miami Beach are busy handling a lot of complicated crime scenes there, but I have a gentleman who’s never been arrested, there’s no prior arrests, who his attorney’s saying has competed in the Olympics, who is obviously a professional athlete and it’s unfortunate that he got to this position.”
Attorney Yale Sanford told Front Office Sports that the judge’s comment raised eyebrows.
“For a judge to come out this early, and I don’t want to speak for her, but it does shine a light on the seriousness of police misconduct and the use of force,” Sanford said.
The Olympic track star has a slew of legal problems to deal with after his arrest in Miami Beach as he begins training for his next season.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
