Originally Published: 11 SEP 23 15:53 ET
By Steve King
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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (WPBF) — A man who used to live in Palm Beach Gardens says he’s done with Florida after a day at the pool led to him having a gun pointed at him and being handcuffed. The officer involved was later fired for her actions.
Ryan Gould sent WPBF 25 News security footage from his apartment complex which shows what happened.
Former officer Bethany Guerriero points gun at Ryan Gould in Palm Beach Gardens on May 10, 2023. She was later fired for her actions.
The surveillance footage from Sable Ridge apartments in Palm Beach Gardens on May 10 shows former Palm Beach Gardens officer Bethany Guerriero walking toward Gould, pulling out her gun and pointing it at him. He then lay down on the pavement, wearing just swim trunks.
“I was in fear of my life so much that I immediately was just on the hot pavement, belly down, I did not want this lady in any way to think I was any threat to her,” said Gould. “It was terrifying.”
Gould says this all started when he was swimming laps at the pool and a woman and man then came up to him and asked him to move. Gould says the man showed him he had a gun.
Gould then called the police. An officer arrived and told him to wait. Then, a short time later, Guerriero showed up.
“When (Guerriero) was walking toward me I didn’t even think there was a likelihood she would even raise her voice at me,” said Gould. “This was the second time I had come in contact with a gun in a couple minutes there. I was just really scared and confused.”
The officers let him go after he was detained for a period of time.
Shaken up, Gould moved back to Chicago and says every day has been a struggle since this happened.
“I was wandering around my house for weeks with the blinds closed and armed peering out the windows terrified that more people were going to show up,” said Gould.
He also says he never wants to return to Palm Beach Gardens.
“It really makes me question if I want to live there, stay there, drive through there, shop there, anything,” said Gould.
The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department fired Guerriero on Aug. 25th, saying she violated department policies.
“The safety and well-being of our citizens and visitors is the first priority of the City of Palm Beach Gardens and its Police Department,” said Major Robert Wilson, public information officer for the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department. “We take misconduct by our officers very seriously and will continue to address all incidents such as this, as it is critical to the professional environment and credibility we strive to uphold in our community.”
Gould says he doesn’t think this one termination goes far enough because he says other officers stood by and didn’t stop Guerriero.
He is debating whether to take civil action against the department.
Gould was never charged. It’s unclear if the man at the pool who Gould said had a gun was ever charged.
WPBF 25 News requested all documents relating to this incident and subsequent investigation from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department and those documents have not been provided.
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