. Gillum answers the door naked and the male is a confirmed escort.Miami Beach PD releases photos, video in Andrew Gillum incident
The Miami Beach Police Department released photos and videos taken the night former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum was found inside a South Beach hotel room with a reputed male escort and suspected methamphetamine.
None of the photos or videos, however, appeared to show a clear image of Gillum, the 2018 Democratic nominee for Florida governor who bowed out of public life, at least temporarily, after the scandal broke last month.
The department released the materials Wednesday in response to public records requests from the Tallahassee Democrat and other news outlets. The department said it redacted some video footage it considered exempt under Florida public records laws.
The materials include photos taken inside the hotel room — which circulated online weeks ago after a British tabloid got hold of them — police body camera videos, 911 recordings and previously released incident reports.
The photos and video were taken early the morning of March 13, after police and paramedics were called to the high-rise hotel in response to a reported overdose.
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The Police Department blurred and muted video footage taken inside the hotel room, making it unclear who is in the frame or what exactly is happening. One video, however, shows a detective asking permission to search the room from Mejias, who consented.
Ernesto Rodriguez, spokesman for Miami Beach Police, said the department redacted footage taken inside the hotel room, which he said "a reasonable person would expect to be private." Such videos are exempt under state statutes, he noted.
"Accordingly, the city of Miami Beach has redacted certain portions of those body camera recordings provided (and has also completely redacted another body camera recording) which were taken entirely within the interior of a hotel room," Rodriguez said in an email to news organizations.
A spokesman for Gillum did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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Some images were blurred and muted, and the Miami Beach Police Department redacted some body cam footage. Tallahassee Democrat
The embarrassing incident prompted Gillum, a married father of three young children, to take a break from politics and stints as a pundit on CNN and elsewhere on cable TV.
He publicly apologized after the incident, saying he "had too much to drink" but never used methamphetamine. A couple of days later, he announced he would retreat from public life and enter rehab for an alcohol problem he developed after his loss in the 2018 Florida governor's race.
“I know the damaging effects it can have when untreated,” Gillum said in the prepared statement. “I also know that alcoholism is often a symptom of deeper struggles. I am committed to doing the personal work to heal fully and show up in the world as a more complete person.”
did not release the photos and was investigating their dissemination as possible leaks.
However, the spokesman on Wednesday said some photos from the Gillum matter were in fact released by the city of Miami Beach's Clerk's Office. That happened after the Police Department "inadvertently" sent the photos to the records clerk.
Miami Beach Police have released photos from the scene of an incident involving Andrew Gillum. (Photo: Miami Beach Police Department)
"The requests should have been handled by PD but this one was fulfilled," Rodriguez said in an email.
The photos are the same the department released on Wednesday and not others circulating online, including some that have not been authenticated. Rodriguez said the department is still looking into how the original incident report was released.
