The teenage son of an Israeli diplomat seemed to be hysterically crying in his Miami-Dade County mug shot over the weekend after Sunny Isles Beach police accused him of intentionally driving his motorcycle into one of the department's officers to avoid traffic. However, his father's background may help him avoid two felony charges.
Avraham Gil's father, Eli Gil, is the consul for administration at the Israeli Consulate in Miami.
As per the police report, Gil, 19, an Aventura resident, struck a police lieutenant conducting a traffic stop on Collins Avenue close to 174th Street on January 27 at 3:30 pm.
According to WPLG, the lieutenant noticed Gil weaving through traffic on Collins Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares on the Miami barrier island, and asked him to halt. However, Gil continued to ride and "intentionally ran him over".
Despite having an "incapacitating" injury to his left leg, the cop managed to take Gil off his bike and bring him to the ground, as reported by the outlet.
As per the court records obtained by the POST, Gil was charged with two felonies --aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and violent resistance against an officer to escape arrest.
Gil was operating his motorcycle without a license plate, according to the police.
{{/usCountry}}Gil was operating his motorcycle without a license plate, according to the police.
{{/usCountry}}"It should be noted that Avraham spontaneously uttered that he was sorry and that he was just driving in between vehicles to cut in front of the line because he hates waiting behind traffic," reads the police report as per the New Times.
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What is consular immunity & can Gil get it?
Avraham Gill's attorneys contend that the teen's accusations should be withdrawn since Miami-Dade law does not apply to him due to his father's diplomatic status.
The US State Department's "Diplomatic and Consular Immunity" states that "Family members forming part of the household of diplomatic agents enjoy precisely the same privileges and immunities as do the sponsoring diplomatic agents."
One of the benefits granted to agents is total protection from prosecution in the criminal courts of the host nation and this immunity cannot be "waived by the sending state," regardless of the nature of the offense.
However, a legal analyst claims that Gill may not get the immunity.
“Diplomatic immunity is not given to people who are called consular officials, and those are people who are not the head diplomatic agent of a foreign country here in the United States, so there is a distinction,” David Weinstein told Local 10.
The date of his arraignment is set for February 26.
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Gil's previous encounter with police
A police body cam video footage of what appears to be an earlier interaction between the Gil and Miami Shores police in December, shows the teenager was making reference to his father's position as a consul and asking the officer, "Would you like me to call him?"
In December, Gil was riding his motorcycle when he got into a confrontation with Miami Shores police. The plate said "Pls Chase."
The identical motorcycle was later seen by Miami Shores police in mid-January, and they were able to capture the license plate on camera before the driver fled.