Miami Beach Police Officer Kenneth MacLeod just learned the hard way that everyone has a camera

Miami Beach police officer Kenneth MacLeod chats with Albert Valdes:
“I’ll throw your ass in jail. You want to be a sarcastic bitch, 
I’ll be f**king a bigger bitch.”

You can add Miami Beach police officer Kenneth MacLeod to the growing list of cops who have been caught on camera acting like assholes.

Miami New Times managing editor Tim Elfrink posted a video this morning of MacLeod launching into a profanity-laced tirade after a young man he'd ticketed for a license plate infraction said "God bless you."

The video was uploaded to YouTube two days ago by Albert Valdes...and it's quickly going viral.

Now, MacLeod is being investigated by the Miami Beach police department's Internal Affairs unit, according to a police spokesperson.




Here's a partial transcript from the video of MacLeod's interaction with Valdes courtesy of the Photography is not a Crime blog:

“Have a good day. Get out of my face before I decide that this may not be the best judgement that I’ve made,” MacLeod says.

“You have a great day, too, sir,” Valdes responds.

“Trust me, I will,” the cop responds.

“God bless you,” Valdes says.

“You know what?” MacLeod responds, clearly annoyed. “I’ll throw your ass in jail. You want to be a sarcastic bitch, I’ll be f**king a bigger bitch.”

They stare each other down for a couple of seconds with Macleod holding his handcuffs before he continues laying into him.

On a personal note, 6 or 7 years ago I witnessed first hand, one of MacLeod's tirades.

I was with a group of 4 or 5 paparazzi who were parked in a grassy area at the east end of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. After about 10 minutes of taking pictures of some houses across the bay, MacLeod suddenly appeared, rolling up in his police car, getting out and asking us what we were doing.

After we told him we were taking pictures, he immediately started berating us in much the same manner and tone as you see in the video above, ending his tirade with something like "You f**king paparazzi make me sick," or words to that effect.

MacLeod, a K-9 officer who joined the department in 1990, is described by one colleague as a "very good street cop."

MacLeod received his department's Medal of Valor in Feb. 1992, a month after being shot and seriously wounded in a shootout.

From the Miami Herald, Feb. 6, 1992:

A tearful Kenneth MacLeod , the 24-year-old Miami Beach police officer seriously wounded in a Jan. 3 shootout, was greeted with a standing ovation in the City Commission chambers Wednesday after he was presented with the Medal of Valor.

"If you realize that just four weeks ago this man was shot four times with a .45 pistol, I think he's in remarkable condition," said Police Chief Phillip Huber, who described MacLeod as "one of the bravest men I know."

The rookie officer was working an off-duty assignment at the intersection of Collins Avenue and 31st Street when he approached a motorcyclist who had been acting suspiciously, Huber said.

The motorcyclist pulled a handgun and quickly fired four shots, shattering bones in the officer's left arm, right leg and lower back, police said. The fourth bullet struck MacLeod 's bulletproof vest.

The officer managed to pull his own handgun and squeeze off 16 shots, disabling the suspect, identified as Morgan Russell, 25, of Minnesota.

Three bystanders who quickly moved to assist MacLeod after the shooting were also honored at Wednesday's meeting: Kevin McFarland and George Dukes, who subdued the suspect and handcuffed him, and Steve Alvarez, who grabbed the suspect's gun.

"There is not a police officer in the world who could hope to perform more admirably," Huber said.

MacLeod 's voice broke as he answered all the praise. "I'd just like to thank everyone on the Police Department, the commission, Fire-Rescue and the three people who came and helped me . . . that's all."