Cop Pulls Gun on Grindr Hookup Who Allegedly Tried to Blackmail Him

Author: Alex Cooper

An influential gay police sergeant who is president of the Miami police union says he was suspended after he pulled his gun on a man he was hooking up with after the man attempted to extort money from him.

Tommy Reyes, 36, was suspended last month and was almost charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he pulled a gun on a man he met at a Tallahassee Hampton Inn & Suites in January, the Miami New Times reports. He says he did so after the man stole his wallet.

“I was a victim and I have nothing to hide but I cannot comment on an open investigation,” Reyes told the outlet. “I was a victim of a crime, and Tallahassee PD victimized me again.”

Reyes was visiting Tallahassee and met the man through Grindr.

During the disastrous hookup, the man pretended to climax by spitting on Reyes’s back, according to a police report seen by the outlet. The man found out Reyes was a cop and took the wallet.

The man then allegedly tried to blackmail Reyes over Grindr unless he paid for a “shopping spree.” He ended up spending more than $1,300 on computer gaming accessories, using Reyes’s American Express.

The two agreed to meet at the hotel parking lot, where Reyes allegedly took the man’s car keys, the New Times reports. The man said he still had Reyes’s wallet and that the police officer responded, “And I’ve got a gun.”

Reyes then pulled his gun and held the man at gunpoint, ordering the man to get on the ground. The man said that Reyes told him, “I should f***ing kill you,” and placed his knee on the man’s back. The man managed to eventually flee.

Police who arrived at the scene were able to track down the man’s car, which belonged to his mother. The date agreed to meet police at Florida A&M University, where he showed officers some scrapes and wounds from the parking lot incident.

Reyes told authorities he had wanted to detain the date until the police got there, the New Times reports.

He blocked the date on Grindr but had kept the messages. He showed them to one of the Tallahassee police investigators, who determined the man had tried to extort Reyes.

Initially, Reyes was considered by authorities as the victim of petit theft. However, due to Reyes pinning the man on the ground and drawing his gun, Tallahassee police said there was probable cause to charge him. 

Officials with the Tallahassee-Leon County State Attorney’s Office said there was “no reasonable likelihood of prosecution,” so they dropped the charges.

Reyes was relieved of duty with pay as Miami police investigate, according to the New Times.

In an email to the police union last month, Reyes wrote that his suspension was the result of an anonymous complaint.

“I was [relieved of duty] based on an anonymous complaint,” he said. “I cannot go into details as it is an open investigation, I will stand strong and tell you my brothers and sisters that I was the victim of a crime, and I am once again being victimized by some of our own people.”

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Alex Cooper