Former MDPD officer sentenced to 364 days behind bars following rough arrest
MIAMI - A judge sentenced a former Miami-Dade police officer to 364 days in jail for tackling a woman to the ground.
Alejandro Giraldo, a veteran officer, was found guilty of battery and official misconduct for lying in a police report. Now he'll spend almost a year behind bars.
It's a sentencing that brought Dyma Loving, the victim in this case, to tears. She said the ruling restores her faith in the justice system.
"I had no idea that she was going to give this man jail time for me. I am overwhelmed with gratitude," said Dyma Loving.
The arrest, caught on camera, leaving her traumatized. On March 5th, 2019, Dyma said her and her friend were threatened by a man with a gun. They called 911 for help but when officers arrived, Loving said she was assaulted.
"Bad days happen to everyone and in retrospect, on March 5th, 2019 I too had a bad day. What I viewed at the time as honest police work, turned into something else," said Alejandro Giraldo, who was sentenced to jail Thursday.
Just before he was sentenced to jail Giraldo read an apology to Loving.
"I always tried to be the best police officer I could and fair to the people I dealt with. This morning I want to apologize to Dyma Loving for any trauma I may have caused her or her family," said Giraldo.
Loving said that was a moment she's been waiting for, for three years.
"That apology, it meant everything to me," she explains.
It's not the outcome Giraldo prayed for just before appearing in front of a judge, but his defense attorney said it's a decision they have to accept.
"As a man of faith he handled it very well and he believes whatever happened is God's will," said Andre Rouviere, who represented Giraldo in this case.
"I got a cop to be prosecuted for doing wrong and it's hard to even get cops arrested when they kill and murder someone so.. and I get to go home to my children while he's doing jail time. This is remarkable," said Loving.
A judge ruled on July 11th that Giraldo will begin his sentencing behind bars.
There is an appeal being filed for the conviction.
