Officers were out ticketing illegally parked parents at a Cutler Bay school Friday morning after a mother was arrested earlier in the week for stopping in a no parking zone, authorities said.
Rita Gabriela Guzman, 25, was arrested on one count of resisting an officer without violence Wednesday afternoon at Dr. Edward L. Whigham Elementary School on Southwest 87th Avenue, according to a Miami-Dade Police arrest report.
Guzman was booked into jail and later released. Her attorney, Lonnie Richardson, says Guzman suffered two sprained wrists and possibly a fracture. Richardson says Guzman plans to file a formal complaint Friday afternoon.
According to the report, Guzman was in her car stopped in a "no parking or standing" area when she was told by an officer to move her car.
"Why are you being nasty?" Guzman responded, according to the report.
Guzman was asked repeatedly for her driver's license but refused to hand it over. She was removed from her car and struggled before she was placed in handcuffs, the report said.
Parents offered a variety of opinions as they dropped their children off to school Friday morning. Some sided with Guzman, while others were in favor of the officer.
"She should have gave her license," said Jade Thomas, a grandparent of a student at the school. "And if they asked her to move, she should just move."
Alyssa Cordero witnessed the event as she dropped off her child Wednesday. Cordero described the scene as "really embarrassing," with witnesses stopping and pulling out cell phones to record the commotion.
"She was fighting to get away, she was giving him a really hard time," Cordero told NBC 6 describing the scene. "I saw him being a little rough with her but at that point, you know, you're resisting arrest from a cop. You just have to cooperate"
Miami-Dade Police internal affairs says they are "examining" the video, but would not comment further at this time.
