Jesse Scheckner
Well, things certainly aren’t going how anyone had hoped.
This past weekend, mere days before he was to return to Miami-Dade government as the county’s new Chief Resilience Officer, Curtis Osceola got nabbed by police following an alleged domestic violence incident.
Osceola, a 35-year-old lawyer living in Doral, was booked Friday on charges of battery and resisting an officer without violence. He was released the following morning, Alex Harris of the Miami Herald reported.
An arrest report the Herald obtained said Osceola’s girlfriend called police during an argument over his pending divorce. She said Osceola slapped her.
An officer responding to the scene noted “various signs of disturbance” at the couple’s apartment, including broken glass, and that the woman had a “fresh scratch” on her neck and Osceola had a cut on his ear.
Osceola’s lawyer told the Herald his client is innocent of wrongdoing and was wrongfully arrested. He added that Ring security footage captured at the residence will show that Osceola did not resist arrest.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, whose office announced Osceola’s hiring last week, said in a statement that the situation is “under review” and Osceola’s starting date — set for this past Monday — “will be delayed while the legal process takes course.”
Osceola was to replace Interim Chief Resilience Officer Patricia Gomez, who took over for Jim Murley, the first person in the role, after his retirement last year. The job is a top post within the county’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources.
Osceola came to the job after working since January 2022 as Chief of Staff to the Miccosukee Tribe, where he led Everglades restoration efforts and secured federal environmental grants.
Before taking the Chief of Staff position — his fourth official job with the tribe, following a legal internship and business analyst and slot director posts — he worked as an Assistant Miami-Dade Public Defender.
