A Florida mayor has called out the police officer who pulled over a distressed Gisele Bündchen for his approach as the supermodel complained about being stalked by paparazzi.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Wednesday’s interaction between the unidentified cop and Bündchen was “wholly unacceptable” and didn’t reflect what residents expect from police as the officer showed a “dismissive posture.”
“I was dismayed yesterday to watch a video interaction of one of our residents speaking to one of our police officers,” Burkett wrote in a letter, obtained by WPLG, to Surfside Interim Police Chief Henry Doce.
“As one watches the video, it becomes clear very early in same that the resident is upset and frightened. “The frightened resident tells the Surfside officer that she believes a stalker is following her and that she is afraid.”
Bodycam footage showed the officer dismiss the mother of two’s safety concerns and referred her to the Miami Beach Police Department.
Bündchen, 43, told the officer she was “just trying to stay (away) from that guy,” referring to the suspected paparazzo before she was pulled over.
“There’s nothing I can do about that,” the officer says before telling her to “file a report with Miami Beach.”
The officer had let Bündchen off with a “courtesy” before she made the terrifying admission.
“I’m so tired,” an emotional Bündchen said. “Everywhere I go I have these f–king guys after me. Nothing protects me. I can’t do nothing. I just want to live my life.”
“I can’t prevent them from doing their job, which is to take pictures,” the cop told her, to which she responded, “I don’t know how that’s allowed.”
The frustrated mayor reminded the department what their main duties were and they were not portrayed in the roadside interaction.
“This response is wholly unacceptable and not reflective of the values, judgment and service residents expect from their police,” Burkett wrote. “On the contrary, our police department’s paramount job is to keep our residents safe!”
“The dismissive posture towards a resident who is clearly in distress is everything we do not want to see in the way our police interact and serve our residents.”
The unidentified cop, who admitted to recognizing Bündchen, said there was nothing he could do to stop the paparazzi.
Burkett said the interaction with Bündchen reminded him of a meeting with the town’s police union boss Tammy Campbell who encouraged him to attend a meeting where she attacked local politicians for requesting the department to “step up patrols and engage with residents.”
“What I saw on that video and the actions of the Surfside union boss at our recent meeting indicate that the past command staff leadership and union leadership, have lost sight of their mission,” Burkett said. “We are all counting on you to refocus our police department’s primary mission back to serving our residents.”
Doce admitted the officer should have conducted the stop differently after seeing Bündchen in distress but insisted the cop was a good man.
“I would have liked to have seen more empathy at the initial contact to what was going on,” the police chief told Local 10 News.
“A lot of people who I’ve spoken to in Surfside say this officer is a great officer, “He is phenomenal.”
“Could we have done better? I think it’s a learning opportunity to understand what the dynamics of that situation is.”
It is unclear if Bündchen filed a report with the authorities.
Surfside Police told Page Six that Bündchen was stopped over a traffic violation.
