February 2023
On January 9, 2023, at approximately 2315 hours, Officer Edouard was dispatched to a call of a burglary in-progress at 1130 NW 126 Street. The comments in the call stated two male subjects were seen walking around the listed residence pulling on the door handles of the home-owner’s vehicles while the residents were home. Upon arrival, Officer Edouard did not initially observe any subjects around the residence. After ensuring the residents were safe, he then began his search of the neighborhood with the small amount of information he was given.
While Officer Edouard was canvassing the area, he immediately focused on a heavily tinted late model vehicle, with the occupants attempting to disguise their presence by backing the vehicle into a driveway. Officer Edouard, trusting his instincts immediately made a U-turn and conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle. Officer Edouard transmitted all pertinent information about his traffic stop over the police radio and requested additional back up officers. Officer Edouard tactically parked his patrol vehicle during this traffic stop, and along with a back-up officer, approached the vehicle to conduct his investigation. His suspicions were confirmed upon contact with the driver as Officer Edouard smelled a strong odor of marijuana and smoke billowing out of the vehicle’s windows. The vehicle was occupied by three males who immediately became uncooperative with Officer Edouard’s questioning. In addition, Officer Edouard observed a semi-automatic firearm laying on the rear passenger floorboard, between the passenger’s feet. Officer Edouard immediately alerted all his back-up officers of the firearm, and all three occupants were strategically removed from the vehicle. During the removal of the vehicle’s driver, another semi-automatic firearm was observed hidden between the driver’s door jam and seat. Both firearms were fully loaded and immediately available to the driver and passenger at any moment. A further search of the vehicle revealed 18 grams of marijuana packaged for sale, within the immediate area of the driver.
A records check of all three occupants revealed that they had a lengthy criminal history, and the driver was currently out on bond for a previous crime. Although Officer Edouard was not able to identify these subjects as the males who grabbed the door handles at the complainant’s home, there was no doubt that these three individuals came to the city of North Miami to possibly prey on the residents. The subjects were subsequently arrested and charged with multiple criminal violations of the law.
Through his actions, Officer Edouard made a “Positive Impact.” Officer Edouard’s quick thinking and decisive action stopped a vehicle of armed subjects from potentially committing serious crimes against the residents of North Miami. Officer Edouard displayed his fortitude and unwillingness to be deterred, while simultaneously being a pillar of Professionalism during this incident, which is a core value of the North Miami Police Department.