The son of an Israeli diplomat in Florida is accused of deliberately driving his motorcycle into a police officer due to his impatience with traffic. However, his charges may be dismissed because of his father's diplomatic immunity, according to his attorney. Avraham Gil, 19, was pictured crying in his mugshot after his arrest for allegedly striking a Sunny Isles Beach police lieutenant on Saturday.
The police officer was conducting a traffic stop on Collins Avenue around 3:30 pm on Saturday when she saw Gil weaving through traffic and asked him to stop. However, the teenager did not comply, continued riding, and reportedly ran over the officer, the incident report mentions.
Out of Diplomatic Immunity
The police officer signaled for Gil to stop, but according to reports, the teenager deliberately continued to ride and ran over the officer. Despite sustaining an "incapacitating" injury to his left leg, the officer managed to grab Gil, pulling him off his bike and bringing him to the ground, according to WPLG.
Gil, who lives in Aventura, is charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, both felonies, as indicated by court records reviewed by The New York Post.
Gil's father, Eli Gil, is consul for administration at the Israeli Consulate in Miami.
Gil reportedly told officers that he was maneuvering through traffic because he "hates waiting behind traffic," according to the Miami New Times, citing a police report.
In a bid to have the charges dropped, Gil's lawyers argue that, due to his father's diplomatic status, Miami-Dade law does not apply to the teenager.
"Family members forming part of the household of diplomatic agents enjoy precisely the same privileges and immunities as do the sponsoring diplomatic agents," according to the US State Department's "Diplomatic and Consular Immunity."
Privileged Son
Diplomatic agents typically enjoy full immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the host country's courts, and they cannot be prosecuted no matter the offense unless the immunity is "waived by the sending state."
Nevertheless, a legal analyst suggests that Gil may not be entitled to immunity due to the specific diplomatic role held by his father.
"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.
Saturday's arrest is not the first time Gil has interacted with law enforcement in the Miami area. He has been engaged in at least two other incidents with the law, one of which involved fleeing from police when they tried to initiate a traffic stop for him and his bike.
Newly released bodycam footage shows a police officer activating his lights on January 14 to pull over a motorcyclist, suspected to be Gil.
The motorcyclist fled, and the officer did not pursue him because per Miami Shores policy, refrain from chasing people for traffic violations.
Earlier on December 31 in Miami Shores, Gil was stopped for multiple traffic offenses. During this stop, he mentioned that his father was an Israeli diplomat, prompting a call to his parents.
His motorcycle had a vanity plate reading "PLS CHASE," concealed by a second plate that could flip up.
The officer allegedly run over by Gil remains on leave due to injuries.
