Fired Officer Who Verbally Abused Victim Wins Job Back

August 21, 2024

Palm Beach Gardens Officer Bethany Guerriero Fired, Reinstated After Viral Gunpoint Encounter With 911 Caller

Palm Beach Gardens Police Officer Bethany Guerriero became the center of a widely discussed police-misconduct controversy after a May 9, 2023 encounter in which she drew her firearm on Ryan Gould, a man who said he had called 911 after another man at a community pool allegedly displayed a gun.

According to the federal appeals court opinion in Ryan Gould v. Bethany Guerriero, Gould was at his community pool when a dispute developed with a woman. Her husband later arrived, and Gould reported that the husband showed him a firearm in his waist area. Gould left the pool area and called 911.

When officers arrived, Gould was waiting near the pool parking lot. The appeals court opinion states that Officer Bethany Guerriero and Officer Joseph Strzelecki approached Gould after another officer had already arrived. Guerriero told Gould to keep his hands out of his pockets. Gould responded that he was not the one with the gun and reached into his swimsuit pocket, removing a cell phone. Guerriero then ordered him to put the phone down. After Gould continued objecting, Guerriero drew her firearm and ordered him to the ground.

Gould was handcuffed and later transported to jail, but the Eleventh Circuit opinion states he was ultimately released without charges.

Internal Investigation and Termination

The incident triggered an internal investigation by the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department. According to CBS12 News, the department concluded Guerriero violated several department policies, and her termination became effective in August 2023.

The department’s public statement, reported by CBS12, said the “safety and well-being” of citizens and visitors was the department’s first priority and that misconduct by officers would be taken seriously. For critics of the encounter, the firing appeared to confirm what the video had already suggested: a citizen who called police for help ended up on the ground at gunpoint instead.

Reinstated Through Arbitration

However, Guerriero’s termination did not end the matter. In August 2024, WPTV reported that the police union representing Guerriero confirmed she had been reinstated after arbitration. WPTV reported that a Palm Beach Gardens police spokesperson would not answer questions about the reinstatement.

The reinstatement added another layer to the controversy. To the public, the case raised a familiar question: what does police accountability mean when an officer can be fired after an internal investigation, only to return to the department through arbitration?

Civil Rights Lawsuit Dismissed

Gould later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Guerriero, alleging excessive force and false arrest. In 2024, a federal district judge granted summary judgment in Guerriero’s favor. Gould appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

In a May 5, 2025 opinion, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal. The court concluded that, under the specific facts and existing law, Guerriero was entitled to qualified immunity on the excessive-force claim. The court also found probable cause for Gould’s arrest under Florida’s obstruction statute because he failed to comply with Guerriero’s commands during the investigation of a reported firearm incident.

WPTV reported that the appeals court ruling effectively ended the case unless Gould pursued an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why This Case Still Matters

The court ruling does not erase the public concern created by the video, nor does it erase the department’s own decision to fire Guerriero after its internal investigation. Instead, the case shows the gap between internal police discipline, arbitration, and civil liability.

A police department can decide an officer violated policy. An arbitrator can later reverse the punishment. A court can then rule that the officer is protected from civil damages. For the public, those separate systems can produce a result that feels less like accountability and more like institutional protection.

In the Guerriero case, a man who called 911 to report a gun ended up detained at gunpoint, transported to jail, and released without charges. Even though the courts sided with the officer in the civil case, the incident remains a serious example of how quickly a police response can turn against the very person who called for help.

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