Featured Image Credit: X/@PicturesFoIder / PBGPAT
Topics: Florida, Social Media, News, Police, Viral
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Florida, Social Media, News, Police, Viral
A cop who went viral last year and was ultimately fired for her behavior has been reinstated.
In May 2023, Bethany Guerriero responded to a citizen's 911 call where they alleged that a man pulled out a firearm on them following an altercation in Florida.
Ryan Gould was the individual to have called cops in the hope that they would 'intervene and protect his safety', but things took an unexpected turn.
While it was Gould who called police, Guerriero ended up pulling her gun on him - which she later claimed was because she was unsure if he was the reported gunman or not.
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She also allegedly thought that Gould, who was only wearing swimming trunks and crocs at the time, was concealing the weapon in his shorts.
It's reported that Guerriero held Gould at gunpoint for 12 seconds before she proceeded to handcuff him.
The whole thing was filmed at the time of the ordeal last year, where Guerriero could be heard telling Gould to 'shut your mouth' and referred to him as 'punk' when he asked why he was being arrested.
Gould was taken to jail on the day in question but was released before he was processed.
The video of their interaction went on to be viewed 10 million times online, sparking Palm Beach Gardens Police Department to fire Guerriero.
She had been labeled as an 'unhinged cop' on social media. The video posted on YouTube was titled 'Innocent Man Arrested By Unhinged Cop'.
Defending their decision to let her go from the force, the Police Department said that Guerriero had presented 'an absolute abuse of authority in every possible way'.
But Guerriero has since won her job back this month following a 'union-forced arbitration and a binding determination by the arbitrator to return her to work without back pay', a spokesperson for the city and police department told UNILAD.
"Officer Guerriero is currently in retraining and will be assigned to the Records Division upon completion of her training," they added.
While Guerriero may have got her job back, she is still facing a federal lawsuit that was filed by Gould that accuses her of excessive use of force and unjustified arrest.
The trial is scheduled to begin in a West Palm Beach courtroom on September 9, The Palm Beach Post reports.
Speaking out following the city's recent decision to reinstate Guerriero, Eric Rice, an attorney for Gould, said he was 'disappointed that the police department failed to recognize the significant trauma suffered by Ryan'.
He continued: "He sought protection when he was threatened with a firearm, and, instead of finding safety with the officers, he was held at gunpoint. We have seen no action that will prevent these incidents from continuing to happen."
Palm Beach Gardens' Chief of Police has been contacted for comment.