Title
Congratulations to Officer Ignacio Rivera Quiñones, recipient of the City of Coral Gables “Officer of the Month Award,” for the month of February, 2018.
Body
In the month of February 2018, Ofc. Rivera Quiñones self-initiated two traffic stops, which resulted in two narcotics arrests, and more importantly purged the streets of dangerous drugs. The cases are as follows:
On February 5, 2018 at approximately 3:07 AM., Officer Rivera Quiñones was patrolling his assigned zone when he observed a suspicious Honda CRV pulled over at the 00 block of Zamora Av. Upon seeing the marked Police vehicle, the driver of the Honda CRV drove away, and failed to stop at the stop sign. Officer Rivera Quiñones intuition kicked in, and suspecting criminal activity to be afoot, he initiated a traffic stop. Officer Rivera Quiñones did not see or smell anything upon his encounter with the driver, so he concluded the traffic stop and made the driver aware he was free to go. Even though the driver was free to leave, Officer Rivera Quiñones asked the driver if he would consent to a search of his vehicle to which the driver consented to. A search of the interior of the Honda CRV revealed: clear glass pipe with residue of suspected crystal methamphetamine, a small clear baggie containing approximately 0.56 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine, along with other paraphernalia (CGPD Case 18-000885).
On February 27, 2018, at approximately 12:56 AM., Ofc. Rivera Quiñones was once again patrolling his assigned zone when he observed a burgundy Honda Accord at the 800 block of Ponce De Leon Blvd failing to maintain its lane. Ofc. Rivera Quiñones initiated a traffic stop, and upon making contact with the driver, Ofc. Rivera Quiñones smelled a strong odor of cannabis coming from the vehicle. Ofc. Rivera Quiñones requested a K9 Officer to respond, which yielded a positive alert. A search of the Honda Accord revealed: $16,011.00 in US currency, 3 sheets of LSD, 3483.5 Grams of cannabis (7.6 LB), 2 cartridges of cannabis in oil form, and 26 packs of edible cannabis (Candy Form). Ofc. Rivera Quiñones’ keen eye for suspicious driving patterns and his initiative resulted in the arrest of an offender, who a week prior had been arrested by Miami Beach Police for similar charges, thus revoking the offender’s bond and keeping him in jail (CGPD Case 18-001475).
Ofc. Rivera Quiñones was a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper for two years prior to joining the Coral Gables Police Department. Ofc. Rivera Quiñones brought with him traffic enforcement & narcotic interdiction experience and knowledge that has benefited the citizens of Coral Gables as made evident by these cases. Currently, the United States is dealing with a narcotic epidemic, and Ofc. Rivera Quiñones’s drive has rid the streets of these narcotics, and this is why I believe he is deserving of the Officer of the Month Award for February 2018.