Carlos Lazaro Rodriguez, 33, was suspended from the South
Miami Police Department in February.
A suspended South Miami cop remained in jail Thursday on
charges that include impersonating a police officer.
Carlos Lazaro Rodriguez, 33, was pulled over Tuesday for
speeding an estimated 100 miles per hour on the Florida Turnpike at Southwest
8th Street, authorities said. Although he was suspended from the force at the
time, he told the undercover Homeland Security agent who stopped him that he
was a police officer.
According to the agent, Rodriguez was driving down the
emergency lane, calling out to other drivers and telling them to pull over.
"My window's down and he's passing me and I tell him,
'Hey, what's going on, man, what do you need?'" the agent said. "And
he looks at me again and says, 'Police, you pull over." And he's got a
weird look on his face."
When the agent pulled Rodriguez over, he saw that he was
also carrying two pellet guns that were altered to look like assault weapons.
"This guy, from what I gathered from the South Miami
Police Department, was a threat to himself and others," said Joe Sanchez,
a Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson.
A judge ordered psychological evaluation for Rodriguez at
Thursday's hearing. His bond was set at $25,000.
Although Rodriguez was once named South Miami Officer of the
Year in 2007, he was recently suspended following several incidents with
authorities.
68-Year-Old Hialeah Man Impersonated a Police Officer
His first brush with the law was in December when police
were called to his house after neighbors reported that Rodriguez was walking
around the neighborhood incoherent and brandishing his gun, said City of South
Miami attorney Thomas Pepe.
In February, Rodriguez was charged with resisting arrest and
battery of a law enforcement officer, according to Pepe. This was when he was
suspended from the South Miami police force.
Rodriguez was arrested again in March, after he threatened
to kill South Miami Chief of Police Orlando Martinez de Castro and Major Rene
Landa for taking his job away, Pepe said.
"He said he was gonna kill them, the police officers,
but God didn't want the police officers to die that day, that's why he didn't
kill 'em," said the Homeland Security agent at the bond hearing.
At this point, police issued out a "Be On the
Lookout" alert for him.
The alert warns other officers to use extreme caution, and
says Rodriguez has been involuntarily admitted to a hospital for psychiatric
evaluation under the Baker Act.
"I wouldn't agree that he's a ticking time bomb,"
said Rodriguez's lawyer David Edelstein. "I think he's certainly someone
who needs help."
The City of South Miami has filed a restraining order
against Rodriguez after this last incident, keeping him from returning to the
police department. A judge issued the order on Tuesday.
Stay with NBCMiami.com and NBC 6 South Florida for updates.
The FDLE would not elaborate further, saying more
information would come from the state attorney's office.
Both Miller and Darnell were hired by former Windermere
Police Chief Daniel Saylor, who was arrested last month on a perjury charge.
Saylor pleaded guilty to official misconduct charges
stemming from 2010 FDLE allegations that he halted a police investigation into
the child sexual-battery case against a friend, Scott Bush. Bush was
subsequently arrested by FDLE agents for sexual battery on two children, who
are now adults. He was convicted in January and sentenced to life in prison.