A Florida mayor has criticized a police officer who arrested Gisele Bündchen during a traffic stop, calling his behavior toward the model “unacceptable.”
Bodycam footage captured the interaction between the officer and Bündchen, 45, on Wednesday in Surfside – a town about 30 minutes from Miami Beach. Footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed Bündchen telling the officer she was trying to escape the paparazzi who were following her.
The police officer acknowledged his situation but said there was “nothing” he could do about it.
“Yeah, but he’s stalking me,” Bündchen said.
The officer then told Bündchen that she should contact the Miami Beach Police Department, because that’s when the paparazzi started following her. After the police officer apologized, Bündchen burst into tears.
Bodycam footage captured the moment between Gisele Bundchen and the police officer. NDZ/Star Max/Getty Images
“I’m so tired,” she said. “Everywhere I go, these fucking guys are chasing me. Nothing protects me. I can’t do anything. I just want to live my life.”
The policeman responded that he couldn’t stop the paparazzi from doing their job, which is taking photos.
“I don’t know how that’s allowed,” she said.
Today, Mayor Charles Burkett blasted the officer in a letter to the police chief of the Surfside Police Department, according to WPLG.
“This response is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the values, judgment and services residents expect from their police,” Burkett wrote. “The dismissive attitude toward a resident who is clearly in distress is everything we don’t want to see in the way our police officers interact and serve our residents.”
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett in July 2021. Miami Herald/Getty Images
Acting Police Chief Henry Doce echoed Mayor Burkett’s sentiments in a statement to the news outlet.
“I would have liked to see more empathy from the first contact with what was happening,” Doce said.
Still, Doce added that the officer is “phenomenal.”
“Could we have done better? I think it’s a learning opportunity to understand what the dynamics of this situation are,” Doce told WPLG.
Representatives for Bündchen, Burkett and the Surfside Police Department did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Bündchen moved to Florida in 2020 after her former husband, Tom Brady, joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bündchen and Brady announced their divorce in October 2022 after getting married in February 2009.
The couple share two children – Benjamin and Vivian – and Brady has a son named John from a previous relationship.
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