Monroe County sheriff’s deputy arrested after assault and dispute with bar security
Monroe County Fla. March 12th, 2024
A Monroe County sheriff’s deputy was arrested early Monday morning after security staff at a Key West bar said a woman accused him of grabbing her and he refused to leave the establishment when they ordered him out, according to a police report.
Jesus Abdiel Rojas Burgos, 28, was booked into county jail on a misdemeanor battery charge. As of Monday morning, he remained there on a bond of $1,000.
“I take these incidents very seriously, will investigate this matter fully, and take the appropriate action,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay, Burgos’ boss, said in a statement. “I am committed to keeping this community informed of significant events that occur in this agency — good or bad.”
Key West police said in their arrest report that they were flagged down by security staff at Rick’s Bar on Duval Street around 1 a.m. The officers saw Burgos, who was with a friend, arguing with other security staff, according to the report.
One of the officers told him to leave, and Burgos responded, according to the report, “Why do I have to go, I didn’t do anything.”
The officers stated in their report that Burgos faced them with a “clenched fist and postured up.” Burgos’ friend apologized to the officers and tried leading him out of the bar, but Burgos continued arguing with staff on the way out, the report states.
Bar employees told police that they kicked Burgos out because a woman told them he grabbed her. They said Burgos was argumentative, and replied, “I am a cop” when they said they would call 911 if he didn’t leave.
The officers cuffed Burgos and placed him in the back of a patrol car while one of them went into the manager’s office to watch security camera footage of the alleged incident. The footage showed Burgos speaking with a woman, and then grab her by the arm when she tried walking away, according to the report.
The woman corroborated to police what they saw on the video and said she wished to pursue charges against Burgos.
While Burgos was in the car, he “banged, kicked and screamed loud enough that a pedestrian walked by and asked if Jesus was ok,” the officers said in the report.
The officer who drove Burgos to jail used to be a county deputy, according to the report, and Burgos said he recognized him as a former colleague. Several times on the way to lockup, Burgos told the officer, “I’ll remember,” the report states.
“Jesus was highly intoxicated and had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emitting off his person,” the officer wrote in the report. “Jesus was irate and uncooperative throughout this entire encounter.”
The sheriff’s office hired Burgos in April 2023. Spokesman Adam Linhardt said the sheriff’s office is conducting an internal affairs investigation that will determine his future with the agency.
