A man was arrested for allegedly harassing students at a private Jewish school in North Miami Beach.
According to police, on Monday, May 5, surveillance cameras captured 24-year-old Jose Garrido walking on the sidewalk adjacent to Yeshiva Toras Chaim Toras Emes just before 11:30 a.m. In the video, police said Garrido bent down, picked something up off the ground and threw it at the school’s field where students were playing.
He then left the area only to return minutes later wearing black gloves and what appeared to be a whip in his hands, according to the arrest report.
As he again passed the field, police said he said something to two students which they didn’t understand, according to police. Garrido then allegedly attempted to grab the kippah, a religious garment worn by people of the Jewish faith, off one the student’s head.
According the arrest report, he then “stopped (and) turned his body towards both victims and appeared to take an
aggressive stance continuing to harass both victims with the whip in his hands.”
The students immediately walked away and found a school security guard and told him what happened.
The guard spotted Garrido as he walked back towards the school with the whip and a wooden stick in his
hands, according to police. The guard then took a picture of him which police would later use to identify him.
On Thursday, police went to Garrido residence on NW 118 Street where they took him into custody. During a search, police said they found a small blue plastic baggie of what they suspect is cocaine in his front right pocket.
Garrido was arrested and has been charged with harassment or intimidation based on religion or ethnic heritage and possession of cocaine.
