A Miami-Dade police officer routinely stopped women drivers for no
reason so he could have “sexually suggestive conversations” — including
asking to see the scars on a Miami Beach bartender’s surgically
enhanced breasts — and then let the women go without issuing any
citations, federal authorities say.On Wednesday, FBI agents arrested officer Prabhainjana Dwivedi at Miami-Dade police headquarters.Dwivedi,
a seven-year veteran who once worked the overnight shift patrolling an
area from Key Biscayne to Jackson Memorial Hospital, was assigned to
desk duty last summer after he came under internal suspicion for the
questionable traffic stops.Dwivedi, 33, charged with depriving people of their civil rights,
was released on a $150,000 personal surety bond. He must return to
federal court Friday to address who is going to represent him as his
defense attorney. His arraignment is set for Sept. 19.An FBI
criminal complaint portrayed Dwivedi as a rogue patrol officer who
detained “numerous” female drivers for “unreasonable” lengths of time
“without probable cause, reasonable suspicion or other lawful authority
to conduct a stop.” The complaint focuses on a handful of traffic stops
between May and June of last year, including one of a female undercover
officer.But authorities suspect there are other victims and encouraged them to contact the FBI.According
to the complaint, Dwivedi stopped a 19-year-old woman at 2:20 a.m. on
May 27, 2011, as she was leaving a Miami-Dade nightclub with two
friends. The woman, identified as A.R., said the officer stopped her
because she did not turn on her headlights. Dwivedi also claimed she was
intoxicated, which she disputed.Dwivedi asked the driver to exit
her car and sit in the back seat of his marked cruiser, then
“instructed A.R. to lower the zipper on the front of her dress down past
her breasts to her mid-stomach,” the complaint says. “A.R. stated that,
by following Dwivedi’s instructions, she somewhat exposed her breasts.”She
was detained for one hour and twenty minutes before the officer left
without issuing a citation. According to Miami-Dade police, Dwivedi did
not list the traffic stop on his daily activity report, nor did he
advise a dispatcher of the stop. He also did not conduct a driver’s
license check of A.R. or her two passengers.The criminal
complaint also shows that on the same date, at 5:30 a.m., Dwivedi
stopped a 24-year-old woman bartender traveling from South Beach to her
home in Broward County. He pulled her over in the area of the Golden
Glades interchange, where he accused her of driving under the influence.The woman, identified as M.F., asked the officer to perform a roadside sobriety test on her, but he refused, the complaint says.Dwivedi
asked her if she was the mother of a young child because she had a
child safety seat in the rear passenger area. He told the woman that if
he arrested her for DUI, she would lose custody of her child.Then,
according to the complaint, he shifted the conversation to the woman’s
breast-enchancement surgery, asking her “if she had any photographs of
her breasts.”“M.F. provided Dwivedi with her cellular telephone
so that he could view the photographs,” the complaint says. “After
viewing the photos, Dwivedi asked M.F. if she had any scars or incisions
from the surgery.”She replied that she did, and he asked to see them.“M.F.
then lifted her shirt and showed Dwivedi the scar,” according to the
complaint written by FBI special agent Susan Funk. “M.F. stated that
Dwivedi did not touch her breast.”Afterward, the officer told her
that she appeared sober and could drive home. He also said that he
would follow her to ensure she arrived safely.At her residence,
Dwivedi said he was thirsty, asking for a drink. The woman said the
officer spent more than one hour at her home talking about his personal
life.As in the previous incident, Dwivedi did not list the stop
on his daily activity report or inform a dispatcher of the stop. He did
not conduct a check of her driver’s license, either.On June 5,
the complaint says, Dwivedi detained two women and their boyfriends at
4:30 a.m. on a beach in Key Biscayne, accusing them of trespassing
through a hole in a fence. In a parking lot, he questioned one of the
women, M.M., about the underwear she was wearing.“M.M. stated that Dwivedi continuously pointed his flashlight at her cleavage,” the complaint says.“At one point, Dwivedi pulled his pants zipper down.”The officer eventually released M.M. and the others, who drove away.After
the women lodged complaints with Miami-Dade police, the department’s
internal affairs investigators conducted surveillance of Dwivedi’s
shifts, concluding that he made dozens of traffic stops without probable
cause.On June 25, the officer stopped an undercover officer
during a surveillance around midnight near Northwest 12th Avenue and
40th Street. Dwivedi said he stopped her for making an illegal right
turn.“The undercover officer reported that Dwivedi was flashing
his light onto her breasts and between her legs while at her vehicle,”
according to the complaint.The undercover officer gave him a
false name, date of birth and Social Security number. Dwivedi said he
could not find her in public records, but he let her go without issuing a
citation.



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