Mayor: Police Chief Offered to Resign Before He Shot Himself

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says the county's top police official offered his resignation hours before he tried to kill himself Sunday night. Police say Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, shot himself after a dispute with his wife at a Tampa hotel. Levine Cava said Wednesday that Ramirez called her around 8:30pm Sunday and said, "There was an incident at the hotel in Tampa, and that he had made mistakes and he was remorseful and he was going back to Miami and we would talk about it more the next day," NBC News reports.

The mayor said, "He told me he had made a mistake, that he was prepared to resign." She said she told Ramirez they would discuss it the next day. Police say Ramirez was driving on I-75 south of Tampa when he pulled over and shot himself, WFLA reports. Earlier Sunday evening, officers responded to a call from the Marriott Westside hotel, where a sheriffs' conference was underway, about a man pointing a gun at himself. Police said Ramirez was released after he said he wasn't a danger to himself or others.

Levine Cava said Wednesday that Ramirez was in stable condition after surgery and "is continuing to regain his strength." He probably has a long road ahead, a lot of surgeries, but he is going to survive," said Hillsborough Country Sheriff Chad Chronister. The mayor described Ramirez as an "amazing human being" and said the incident is a "tragic reminder of the critical role mental health plays in our law enforcement." (If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.)