Miami Police Officer Christopher Vital had a wild night last night. It started with speeding more than 100 mph on the street of Miami Beach, peaked with him kicking out the window of a Miami Beach Police cruiser, and ended with him in jail. For good measure, drugs and a suspended license were involved.
Around 4:45 a.m., a Miami Beach Police officer clocked Vital's blue BMW speeding in the triple digits. The officer pulled him over and noticed Vital had bloodshot eyes, was slurring his speech, was wobbly on his feet, and smelled of alcohol.
A 25-year-old woman identified as Stefanie Malvin was in Vital's passenger seat.
Police ran Vital's ID and learned he had a suspended license. They then searched his car. They found a plastic container of marijuana and a bag filled with individual baggies of cocaine and heroine. Cocaine was also found in Malvin's purse.
"I just came back to work," Vital said during the stop. "I'm taking Citalopram for depression."
Both were cuffed.
Vital began acting aggressively while in the backseat of the cruiser, police say, and pounded his head against the partition.
"I'm going to blame you for the injuries on my head," he shouted. "I'm going to say you did this to me, and I'm going to hunt you down, you and your family, and I'm gonna have your job."
Vital then began kicking and broke the rear passenger-side window of the cruiser.
"It doesn't matter what you do to me -- as soon as I get out, I'm going to shoot myself," he said when he was finally brought in to be processed.
Vital ended up being charged with driving with a suspended license, possession of narcotics, driving under the influence, and criminal mischief. Malvin, his passenger, was also charged with possession of narcotics.
"The Miami Police Department frowns upon the behaviors alleged in the arrest of Christopher Vital," Miami PD spokesman Maj. Delrish Moss said in a statement. "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. The American judicial system affords everyone the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and Mr. Vital is no different; however, the Miami Police 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."
Malvin was arrested in November for her involvement in a drunken brawl in the stands during a Miami Dolphins game.
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