On Sunday, a Miami Commission candidate was arrested for allegedly threatening a man with a gun during an argument that ensued over campaign signs.
According to a police report, Francisco “Frank” Pichel, a candidate in next month’s race for the District 1 seat, is facing a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm.
The report stated that the alleged incident happened just before 4 p.m. Sunday at an apartment complex in the 3300 block of Northwest 17th Avenue in Allapattah.
The victim said he was placing campaign signs for Alex Diaz de la Portilla outside the apartment complex, and after briefly leaving the area, he returned to find the signs had been thrown down, the report stated.
A witness told the victim that Pichel had been the one who removed the signs and the victim confronted Pichel and asked him, ‘Why are you throwing the signs?” the report said.
Pichel said it “wasn’t him but he could do whatever he wants,” and an argument ensued, according to the report.
At one point, Pichel pulled a handgun out of his waistband and told the victim in Spanish, “I’ll shoot you and nothing is going to happen to me because I used to be a police officer,” the report stated.
As the victim walked away and called police, Pichel followed him until officers arrived and took him into custody, authorities said.
Pichel was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital “due to feeling ill” and later refused to speak with investigators, the report said.
The District 1 seat was left vacant following the suspension of Diaz de la Portilla after he was arrested on corruption charges on Sept. 14.
A controversial candidate
This is not the first time Pichel has been in trouble with law enforcement.
In 2021, while Pichel was a candidate for Miami mayor, he was on a felony charge of impersonating a police officer.
In the incident which occurred on May 30, two men noticed a white BMW parked in front of a residence, and the driver was later identified as Pichel.
When the men asked Pichel what he was doing, Pichel displayed a gold law enforcement badge identifying him as a Monroe County Police Officer. He stated that he was working on a case and was waiting for another officer to relieve him. Pichel has no history of working for the Monroe County Sheriff’s office.
He was arrested and later released after posting $5,000 bail. At the time of that incident, Pichel was running for the post of Miami-Dade mayor against Francis Suarez, the current mayor. In 2019, he ran for a Miami Commission seat but lost to Díaz de la Portilla.
Pichel is also a former City of Miami police officer.
He was suspended from the Miami Police Department in 2000 after being accused of telling a public service aide to falsify a police report to cover for a fellow officer who battered a handcuffed prisoner. The prisoner died a week later in a jail cell. Pichel was never charged.
