Miami Seaside officer arrested months after alleged road-rage gun incident in Broward – NBC 6 South Florida

A Miami Beach police officer has been arrested nearly three months after he allegedly pointed a gun at another driver during an apparent road-rage incident in Broward County.

Records show 55-year-old officer Frank Celestre was arrested Tuesday on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge and booked into the Broward County Main Jail.

Frank Celestre

The alleged incident happened back on May 28 in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75.

According to an arrest warrant, the victim said he was driving to Miami International Airport and had spotted a marked Miami Beach Police SUV “zigging zagging in and out of traffic.”

The other driver said the SUV was driving aggressively, cutting in front of other vehicles, and at one point caused a BMW to veer off the side of the road, the warrant said.

The victim said he rolled his window down, pointed at the SUV’s driver and told him “You’re nuts, you’re f—ing crazy, what you just did,” and the driver responded by giving him the finger, the warrant said.

As they continued on the highway, the victim said he and the police SUV ended up side-by-side, and that’s when he noticed the other driver was pointing a weapon at him, the warrant said.

The victim said he took photos of the SUV and when he arrived at MIA, he was still shaken up and called police, saying he felt “intimidated” and was “shaking like a dog crapping over a briar bush,” the warrant said.

The victim, a former Marine, described the weapon as a gray or black semi-automatic firearm with a flashlight under the muzzle, the warrant said.

Celestre, who was assigned to the road patrol division, had been scheduled to work an off-duty detail the day of the incident, the warrant said.

After the incident, his department-issued firearm was taken back by the department and he was placed on restricted assignment, the warrant said.

Celestre appeared in bond Wednesday, where his bond was set at $20,000. His attorney declined to comment on the case.

Records showed Celestre was hired by the department in 2006. He has been relieved of duty, Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements said in a statement Wednesday.

“On May 28, 2023, the Miami Beach Police Department was made aware of an incident involving one of our officers,” Clements’ statement read. “The incident was immediately referred to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office for investigation, and the officer was relieved of duty. Our department takes this matter seriously and is fully cooperating with the investigating agency.”