A Miami police officer is facing serious charges after an argument at home spiraled into gunfire.
Sthephany Canizares, 27, was arrested over the weekend after authorities say she fired her service weapon during a dispute with her boyfriend, who is also a police officer. No one was injured during the incident.
The confrontation began on Friday evening when Canizares allegedly found “inappropriate messages” on her boyfriend’s phone. When he made it home she was waiting outside for him with a loaded gun. He tried to get her to come inside, but instead she fired a round outside the residence. No one was struck with the round.
After Canizares fired off a round, her boyfriend grabbed his own gun and their 5-month-old child before locking himself in a bedroom. Canizares fled the scene, but finally called the police and surrendered a few hours after the incident. She turned in her firearm, it still contained the spent casing.
Over the weekend Canizares was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and discharging a weapon in a residential area. Miami-Dade jail records show she was taken to a hospital first after officers reported she was displaying “abnormal behavior,” before being booked into jail on Sunday.
On Monday, Canizares appeared in bond court. Her boyfriend, participating via Zoom, told the judge that he never thought she was actually going to shoot him in spite of the fact that he hid in a bedroom with his own weapon. Without probable cause for the aggravated assault charge the judge set a $500 bond on the lesser count of discharging a firearm outdoors and Canizares was released.
In a statement, the Miami Police Department confirmed that Canizares has been relieved of duty with pay while the investigation continues.
Domestic disputes involving firearms are not unusual, but the fact that both people involved were sworn officers underscores the volatile mix of personal conflict and professional responsibility. Canizares, just 27 and a mother, is now entangled in a criminal case that could alter both her career and her family life.
The investigation is ongoing.
