Suspect who “ambushed”, shot Miami-Dade detective arrested
By WFOR Staff
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MIAMI (WFOR) — A man accused of shooting a Miami-Dade police detective while he was conducting a narcotics investigation in Northwest Miami has been arrested.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of my officers, the coward who ambushed my detective yesterday is in custody. Thank you to all of our local law enforcement partners for their help. No matter the colors of our uniform, we all come together in trying times and work as one family,” Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez posted on Twitter.
According to a senior law enforcement source, the man taken into custody was identified as Steve Gallon.
Gallon is the son of Miami-Dade County School Board member Steve Gallon, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
According to the senior law enforcement source, the detective was conducting surveillance as part of a major narcotics investigation and was following a car as part of that probe. Police believe the driver of the car realized he was being followed and may have deliberately led them to the area of NW 5th Avenue and 43rd Street where the shooting took place.
Detectives are investigating the possibility the driver called ahead to an accomplice and organized the subsequent ambush.
When the car arrived in the area of 43rd street, the detective got out of his car and approached the driver. As he walked up to the driver, a man came up behind the detective and shot him in the back of the neck, according to the law enforcement source.
The gunman then ran off.
Despite being shot, the detective managed to subdue the driver of the car and take him into custody before help arrived, according to the source.
The injured officer was rushed to Jackson Memorial where bullet fragments were removed from his head and neck. The detective was then released from the hospital.
Meanwhile, dozens of police units from different agencies flocked to the area.
Miami police sealed off the neighborhood as the gunman fled into a house. Detectives found the location and surrounded it. As the SWAT team was waiting for a search warrant to go into the residence, the alleged gunman, identified as Gollon, came out and surrendered.
Police Director Ramirez said it’s time for violence against police officers to end.
“I’m tired of being here at the hospital four times already for injured officers being stopped and attacked and this has to stop. If you attack an officer, you’re attacking the community, you’re attacking children,” said Ramirez.
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