An officer who gained notoriety last year and was subsequently dismissed for her actions has now been reinstated.
In May 2023, Bethany Guerriero responded to a 911 call where a citizen claimed that a man brandished a firearm during an altercation in Florida.
Ryan Gould was the one who contacted the police, hoping they would “intervene and protect his safety,” but events took an unforeseen turn.
Although Gould was the one who called the police, Guerriero ended up drawing her weapon on him. She later stated this was due to uncertainty about whether he was the armed suspect.
Guerriero reportedly believed that Gould, who was wearing only swimming trunks and crocs at the time, might have concealed the weapon in his shorts.
It was reported that Guerriero held Gould at gunpoint for 12 seconds before proceeding to handcuff him.
The entire incident was recorded, capturing Guerriero telling Gould to “shut your mouth” and calling him “punk” when he questioned why he was being arrested.
Gould was taken to jail on the day of the incident but was released before being processed.
The video of their interaction garnered 10 million views online, prompting the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department to terminate Guerriero.
She was labeled as an “unhinged cop” on social media. The YouTube video of the incident was titled “Innocent Man Arrested By Unhinged Cop.”
In defending their decision, the Police Department stated that Guerriero showed “an absolute abuse of authority in every possible way.”
However, Guerriero has now been reinstated this month following a “union-forced arbitration and a binding determination by the arbitrator to return her to work without back pay,” a spokesperson for the city and police department told UNILAD.
“Officer Guerriero is currently in retraining and will be assigned to the Records Division upon completion of her training,” they added.
Despite regaining her job, Guerriero is facing a federal lawsuit filed by Gould, accusing her of excessive use of force and unjustified arrest.
The trial is set to begin on September 9 in a West Palm Beach courtroom, as reported by The Palm Beach Post.
Eric Rice, Gould’s attorney, expressed disappointment following the city’s decision to reinstate Guerriero, stating that the police department failed to acknowledge the significant trauma experienced by Ryan.
“He sought protection when he was threatened with a firearm, and, instead of finding safety with the officers, he was held at gunpoint. We have seen no action that will prevent these incidents from continuing to happen,” Rice continued.
Palm Beach Gardens’ Chief of Police has been contacted for comment.