Bodycam video leads to felony charges after Miami-Dade code enforcement officer is assaulted roadside

Arrested after an October confrontation in southwest Miami-Dade

Two men have been charged with a felony count of battery on a Miami-Dade County code enforcement officer after a roadside confrontation that investigators say was recorded by the victim’s body-worn camera.

The incident occurred on Oct. 9 at the intersection of Southwest 288th Street and 157th Avenue. Investigators say the code enforcement officer was in uniform and driving a county-issued vehicle marked with Miami-Dade Code Enforcement logos when a dark-colored pickup truck behind him began flashing its lights.

What investigators say the body camera captured

Investigators allege the pickup’s occupants yelled at the officer, accusing him of driving too slowly and looking at his phone. Authorities say the officer activated his body-worn camera during the exchange.

When both vehicles stopped, investigators say the officer exited his vehicle to photograph the pickup truck. The two men in the pickup also got out, authorities said. Investigators allege one suspect, identified as Niosly Rodriguez, 37, took a fighting stance and struck the officer.

Authorities further allege the officer was prevented from getting back into his vehicle as both suspects pinned him between the car door and the vehicle. Investigators say Rodriguez struck the officer again, knocking him to the ground, and chased him as the officer tried to get away.

Investigators say the body-worn camera also recorded a warning from one suspect to the other to stop the assault because it could result in the officer’s death.

Authorities say that after the officer moved to place the vehicle between himself and the suspects, he pointed his body camera toward them and called for assistance. Investigators say the suspects returned to the pickup and left the area.

How deputies identified the suspects and made arrests

Authorities say investigators identified the suspects through investigative methods and circulated a probable-cause flyer while trying to locate them.

• Rodriguez was taken into custody Wednesday near the 25000 block of Southwest 130th Avenue shortly before noon, authorities said.
• Idael Alejandro Vazquez Vargas, 25, turned himself in at the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office South District Station about an hour later, investigators said.

Investigators said both men provided separate statements that were characterized by authorities as self-serving.

Charges and detention status

Both suspects were booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a felony charge of battery on a code inspector, authorities said. As of the morning after the arrests were reported, both were being held with bond listed as “to be set.”

The case underscores the role body-worn cameras can play in documenting rapidly escalating encounters involving public employees operating outside traditional law enforcement roles, particularly during routine field work conducted in marked government vehicles.