shot the police someone shot the police
officer
holy on March 2nd 2024 at approximately
12:21 p.m. the Miami Police Department
received a report of an armed suspect
walking eastbound on the Venetian
Causeway this 2 and 1/2 Mile Bridge
connects my Miami to Miami Beach in
response to the report officers from
both precincts quickly approached the
bridge from opposite ends unbeknownst to
them their simultaneous arrival will
lead to an impending disaster the
following report is based on official
police records and most of the footage
has never been seen
before let's go on a sunny afternoon in
the bustling Seaside Community officer
shanaka Stringer responds to a 911 call
and quickly identifies a suspicious
individual who may be armed with a small
handgun the man will later be identified
as Christal Garcia according to the
official narrative released by the state
attorney's office Witnesses directly
behind officer Stringer observe crisal
reaching into his right pocket and
pulling out an unidentified object
officer Stringer has only seconds to
react as she decisively Springs into
action however she's unaware that a
crisis is quickly approaching ing
officer Stringer advances toward the
suspect alone holding her firearm in her
right hand pointed in the direction of
Chris Ball Garcia when Christa ball
didn't comply with her commands officer
Stringer grabbed Christ Bal Garcia with
her left hand while continuing to hold
her firearm in her right hand while
officer Fabio balanos approached from
the opposite end of the causeway 1125 on
Ral
ground stop stop officer stringer's
firearm was resting on Christal Garcia's
upper back and pointed in the direction
of arriving officer balanos a muffled
gunshot Echoes along the causeway as a
bullet from officer stringer's weapon
strikes officer balanos who struggles
frantically to regain control of the
dangerous situation why' you do that
11:42 it's a a I got nobody
do oh you
up you hurt yourself he's bleeding a lot
stop stop don't wor in my pocket I'm a
cop stop I'm an old cop put your
hand hey the blood's dripping on me
please put your hand behind your back
now put your hand behind your back hurry
up cuz I need to turn again I know hold
on Christ ball Garcia's claim of being a
former police officer could not be
verified however while he struggles with
police officers Witnesses parked
directly behind officer stringer's
Patrol vehicle captured the events on
their cell
phones he's
bleeding how do you see him bleeding I
think I see him
bleeding shot police someone shot the
police officer the yeah holy
as both officers urgently struggle to
subdue cristall it's clear that officer
balanos requires immediate medical
attention with each passing second
disaster inches closer as his blood
slowly spreads along the
sidewalk I'm not
forcing I've been shot in the left
Cal I'm
sorry let it go I didn't do nothing Let
It Go
hey put a put a put a tourit on my leg
put a t on my
leg I got you I
got hey grab him grab him grab him grab
him let go let's go more assistance
arrives as officer Stringer drags Christ
ball away from officer balanos however
as the situation rapidly escalates
they're about to encounter an unexpected
complication we got everybody
coming hey you need another
tour what do you need what do you need
what you need I got you I got you
get the road open for rescue work on the
road so we can get rescue in and out
because of the heavy traffic on the
Venetian Causeway which has narrow
two-lane Bridges and a toll plaza it
will be a Monumental task to quickly get
emergency services in and out of the
area yeah
as officers work to apply tourniquet to
officer balanos in a desperate attempt
to save him officer Stringer takes a
step back overwhelmed by the emotional
impact of the situation even if they
succeed in Saving officer balanos his
life the consequences of shooting a
fellow police officer could be severe
despite the logistical issue of getting
an ambulance to the scene one of the
officers is about to propose a simple
solution that could potentially save
officer balanos his
life we got one on them already
the
road Ready
2 open the door open the door open the
door let's go
somebody the
other since he's already lost a
significant amount of blood the
officer's Swift improvisation will
undoubtedly give officer balanos a
better chance of survival however due to
the Urgent demand for a cell phone it's
evident that he has a different concern
on his
mind hey can I B your phone start call
my wife M be all
right
hello
hello hey I'm okay okay I got shot in
the leg I'm okay though they're taking
me to r or trauma right now but I'm okay
okay just the light all right just uh
see if you can get somebody to help you
with the kids cuz I'm sure they'll be
calling you okay I just wanted to call
you myself I'm okay it's fine all right
going well that's second I'll tell you
after
okay I'm okay though right bab I love
you
rer okay
bye yeah somebody has to take the
[Music]
kids the driver is racing officer
balanos to the ryer trauma center but
the distance from the incident to the
hospital is just over 3 miles which can
take up to 12 minutes time is clearly a
critical Factor but every bump in the
road causes excruciating pain all right
what's your name bro fa fa B you're good
bro yeah bro it's just God damn it
you're good man you're good got be all
right that
hurts you're good man you're
[Applause]
good even though the officer makes the
usual 12-minute drive and under 6
minutes there about to face yet another
unexpected
obstacle wait bro yeah we're AR all
right open
up let's go let's go
thanks to the quick thinking and
improvisation of the police officers the
medical staff at the Ryder Trauma Center
was able to stabilize officer balanos
however as police reports and eyewitness
footage emerge this case is poised to
take a shocking twist Christal Garcia
did not have a firearm of any kind on
his person the item reported to possibly
be a small revolver or firearm was in
fact a metallic lighter the Florida
State Attorney's Office issued a
statement regarding the shooting
incident in a report released on January
14th
2025 an assistant State Attorney
detectives and an internal affairs
Sergeant conducted an investigation
concluding that the evidence available
was insufficient to support any criminal
charges against officer shanaka Stringer
for the potentially deadly accidental
discharge we reached out to the Miami
Dade State Attorney's Office who
confirmed that Christal Garcia wasn't
charged with any crimes in connection
with this incident he was later
determined to be a reported missing
person out of Coler County Florida
though were not able to confirm whether
he was reunited with family after this
incident