Roberto Zaldivar was arrested for domestic abuse after he chased his girlfriend and rammed her patrol car
Miramar,
FL - A Florida police officer was trying to evade the father of her
children as he chased her on an interstate highway that was captured
July 28 on video.
Miramar Police
Officer Ashley Abreu, 21, had an argument with live-in partner Roberto
Zaldivar, 24, that turned violent, according to the Florida State
Police. (Video below)
While she was driving to work in her police car, Officer Abreu could see Zaldivar following her, according to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel.
As Officer Abreu
tried to get away, Zaldivar pulled in front of her and slammed on his
brakes to try to get her to stop, according to the police report.
The video showed a
gold Nissan Altima chasing and then cutting off the police vehicle and
sideswiping it and then speeding away, according to the Orlando
Sun-Sentinel. There was smoke coming from the Nissan Altima’s rear tires
and the car hit the police car’s left front fender.
“Our officer is a
victim,” Miramar Police spokeswoman Tania Rues said, according to the
Orlando Sun-Sentinel. “Unfortunately, domestic violence is prevalent in
every community. ... Police officers are not immune to being victims of
domestic abuse.”
Officer Abreu was not injured and reported the incident when she got to work, police said.
The Hialeah Police
Department arrested Zaldivar and he was taken to jail on Monday.
Zaldivar was charged with domestic battery by strangulation and burglary
with assault or battery, according to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel.
Zaldivar could also
still be charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer,
according to the Florida State Police.
Zaldivar’s bond was set at $20,000 and he was ordered not to have contact with Officer Abreu once he is released, according to WSVN-TV.
The video was taken by Austin Conley, 27, who shared it with police.
“[The driver of the
Nissan] forced the police car from the very right-hand lane. They were
probably 100 yards ahead of me when this happened, and I didn’t realize
what was going on,” said Conley, according to WSVN. “The person was
trying to send the person in the police car a message. That’s basically
what I got out of it, you know, to the detriment of everybody else
around him.”
Conley said his grandmother gave him a dashcam video as a gift.
“I have witnessed
other crazy drivers, whether it’s folks coming by me on a crotch rocket
at 100 mph at 6:30 in the morning or seeing two guys in a road-rage
incident who got off the Palmetto [Expressway] and were just duking it
out at the side of the road,” Conley said, according to the Orlando
Sun-Sentinel. “We said, ‘Well, we guess this is how folks do it in South
Florida.' My sister wants me to start a video blog or post them on
YouTube.”
Conley said he did call 911 after seeing Saturday’s chase.
“It was a
culmination of all my crazy driving experiences here,” Conley said,
according to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel. “Everyone needs to have a dashcam
if they’re driving in South Florida.”
