Teen claims diplomatic immunity after being accused of running over Sunny Isles police officer
MIAMI - Avraham Gil appears to be crying as his booking photo was snapped last Saturday.
In bond court, we learned of a claim for diplomatic immunity. The 19-year-old is the son of a consular officer at the Israeli Consulate.
"The state will be deferring to defense counsel's representation that diplomatic immunity bars this crime," the prosecutor said.
Last Saturday, Gil was on his motorcycle and is accused of running down a Sunny Isles Beach police officer while weaving in traffic, leaving that officer injured. That officer was dealing with a traffic stop.
According to the police report the officer gave, "loud verbal lawful commands to stop."
The report said Gil "disregarded" that and "intentionally ran him over him."
According to the report, Gil said he was"…driving in between vehicles to cut in front of the line because he hates waiting behind traffic…" His attorney said he "had no intention to hit the police officer."
Not only did Gil have a run-in with police in Sunny Isles Beach but according to police reports, he also had two encounters in Miami Shores.
In Miami Shores, police stopped Gil for speeding on New Year's Eve. On body cam video you hear and officer ask, "One of your parents is a Diplomat?" "Yeah," Gil said. "For what country?" The officer asked. "Israel," Gil responded.
During the stop, the officer noted that his Consul license plate had a cover over it that said, "PLS CHASE."
Two weeks later police say they spotted him again, this time speeding on Biscayne Blvd, despite an initial attempt to stop him, the officer backed off.
As for claims of immunity, Gil's attorney said, the "…Sunny Isles Police Department failed to follow protocols and procedures in place to identify if Mr. Gil, in fact, had immunity. Continuing, "…there was no clarity on his status.'
The US State Department is pretty clear, saying "The Department is aware of this incident. We can confirm that, as the dependent of an Israeli consular officer, the concerned individual is not entitled to civil or criminal immunity."
The full statement from Gil's attorney David Seltzer said, "It is critical for a law enforcement officer to identify quickly and accurately the status of any person identifying themselves as part of a diplomatic attachment, which Mr. Gil did several times per procedure."
"Numerous documents are associated with foreign diplomats which make it difficult without verification to discern a diplomat's status."
"In the instant matter, Sunny Isle Police Department ("SIPD") failed to follow protocols and procedures in place to identify if Mr. Gil, in fact, had immunity."
"At the time of the initial bond hearing, it was reported that he had immunity. Per the Department of State guidelines, '…federal registration documents and driver's licenses do not definitively reflect the degree of privileges and immunities of the bearer. They should be relied upon only as an indication that the bearer may enjoy some degree of immunity…' Thus, based on SIPD's failure to follow approved and accepted procedures in place, there was no clarity on his status."
"As can be seen from the video moments before the incident, Mr. Gil was simply driving and had no intention to hit the police officer, and there is no evidence to the contrary. When all the facts come to light, we are confident Mr. Gil will be exonerated."
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's office said in a statement, "Defense counsel's representation was relied upon and the defendant was released on his own recognizance."
"After receiving confirmation from the State Department, Office of Foreign Missions, that neither the defendant nor his father have diplomatic immunity, we are proceeding as usual with our investigation. Mr. Gil remains charged and the case is still open."
