An officer with the Miami Police Department was arrested Tuesday for allegedly strangling a woman in front of her child inside a Davie home.
Zamir Vargas Valerio, a 34-year-old who has been a member of the MPD for five years, was charged with one county of felony domestic battery by strangulation.
According to an arrest report, Valerio went to the home and woke the woman and her three-year-old son up to demand she unlock her phone. The woman asked Valerio to hand her the phone, which he refused to do and began to threaten her.
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Valerio pushed the woman down, according to the report. The woman's 10-year-old son came into the room and tried to help her up, at which point both noticed Valerio go toward a closet safe where he reportedly kept two firearms inside.
According to the report, the woman and her sons tried to leave the home, but Valerio kept them from leaving and began strangling the woman. She told police she felt the pressure on her neck and later was able to break out of Valerio's hold and escape to a neighbor's home.
Police said they noticed red marks on the woman's neck. Valerio's denied being physical with the female victim and said they two had been "just yelling at each other."
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Valerio was being held on $2,000 bond. Miami Police said he has been relieved of duty with pay pending an internal affairs investigation.
