Miami officer’s wife dies in back seat of cop car after getting trapped, police say
Clara Paulino was trapped in a Miami patrol car that can only be opened from the outside
In a bizarre and tragic accident that has left a Florida family reeling, it has been confirmed that a Miami police officer’s wife died in the back seat of his squad car after getting trapped.
According to PEOPLE, Friday, Clara Paulino, 56, was found dead by her husband and son on a sweltering afternoon when temperatures in the area had hit a high of 92 degrees.
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The officer, identified as Aristides Paulino, reportedly works in the late evening and upon returning home from his shift around noon went to bed. Around 5 p.m. when he woke up, he discovered his wife’s cell phone on the back patio and began looking for her around their home.
“It was horrific. It’s horrible,” Matthew Reyes, vice president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, told the publication. “It’s unfortunate that you can’t help but imagine what kind of a death that would be.”
“When he woke up he was looking for his wife. His son began to help as well, and him and his son — the son, initially — ended up finding her in the back seat of his police car for, at this time, reasons unknown,” he said. “He went to sleep around noon, woke up at 5 p.m., so somewhere in between there, for whatever reason, she ended up in there.”
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Authorities say the officer – who has worked for the department for over 25 years – and his son attempted to perform first aid and CPR “to the best of their ability.” However, the wife and mother was ultimately pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.
Officer Michael Vega of the City of Miami Police Department also confirmed that patrol cars like Paulino’s can only be opened from the outside, and come with partitions separating the back from the front. Therefore it makes it impossible for anyone in the back seat to climb into the front seat.
A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department said Paulino’s death is an “open, unclassified death investigation.”
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