A 37-year-old Florida police officer was arrested after allegedly attempting to “reconnect” with his ex-girlfriend by writing her a fictitious traffic ticket, but was discovered when it was revealed that the woman was not even in the country at the time.
Miami Police Officer Zamir Vargas Valerio was arrested Thursday morning and charged with one count of official misconduct and one count of offenses against computer users, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices, both felonies, according to authorities.
According to a news release from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, authorities first became aware of the situation when the victim’s mother contacted her daughter — an active-duty member of the United States military who was deployed overseas at the time — about a “correspondence from traffic court.”
The victim explained to her mother that the ticket had to be a mistake because she was out of the country at the time the violation was alleged to have occurred.
However, after contacting the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Courts, the mother discovered that the traffic citation had been “validly issued.”
The victim then contacted the Miami-Dade Police Department regarding the ticket. The department’s internal affairs division quickly discovered that the officer whose name was on the citation had been on disability leave at the time of the alleged violation.
Internal affairs investigators discovered Valerio “utilized the computer access password of another police officer to issue the false traffic citation,” according to the release.
“Officer Valerio allegedly used a major police department’s criminal justice resources in an apparent attempt to reconnect with a former girlfriend.”
“This is not only beyond normal comprehension, but it is also a violation of the law,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement issued after the officer was charged. “Both the Miami Police Department and I believe that no one should ever have to be concerned about potential abuse of power or the weaponization of personal information. The filing of these criminal charges confirms this belief.”
City of Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales described Vargas’ alleged actions as “serious criminal and ethical violations” that do not “reflect the values and dedication” of the department’s other officers.
“As Chief of Police, I want to make it unequivocally clear that we are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and accountability within our ranks,” he told the audience. “Our department initiated this investigation because we hold ourselves to the same standards we ask of our community — transparency, responsibility, and obedience to the rule of law.”
