Documents and video from the investigation into a Miami Beach Police sergeant who was fired after allegedly being drunk while working an off-duty job at a South Beach club were released by police Wednesday.
Police released hundreds of pages concerning their investigation into what happened during the wee hours of the morning and the alleged drinking in uniform that cost Sgt. Mike Muley his job.
The videos show Muley last summer arriving at the Miami Beach Police Department before heading for his uniformed off-duty detail on Ocean Drive.
Once he made it to the tourist spots, he's seen at Fat Tuesday with a beverage in his hand. Police reports said the Big Gulp drink he had contained alcohol and the beverage was eventually found half full inside his police unit.
Muley told investigators he mixed vodka into the cup but never took any drinks from it.
The videos also show Muley at Mangos outside at 1:37 a.m. Investigators said he was drinking a double vodka cranberry. Paperwork from the bartender showed the double was entered into the bar's accounting system just a few minutes later.
The police internal affairs officer's report shows other times during the course of the morning where Muley either ordered alcohol or is actually seen consuming the drinks.
Muley was a highly decorated officer credited with saving lives before he was part of a high profile trial when an officer under his supervision injured two people on an ATV.
The investigator's report gives a look into his mindset in a letter written to his wife apparently several weeks before the night that cost him his job.
Local
"I am not handling the stress very well. The money issue is weighing heavily on me and now there is talk that the Patrol O.T. will be cut back during the summer," Muley wrote. "You know...I get that feeling that everything is weighting [sic] down on me and I get that overwhelming feeling of not being able to get out from under the pile of things...Sometimes I have depression issues...I feel like I have become withdrawn at work."
Muley's early morning was interrupted when someone called 911 about him drunk and vomiting. After an investigation that lasted several months, Muley was fired earlier this month.
His lawyer said Muley is going to fight his firing to the end. That involves them going to an independent arbitrator to see if Muley can get his job back. The attorney said these few hours in the videos in no way reflect Muley's career and he had a medical problem that night that was the issue.
