It was a bond court hearing with hospital sheets instead of handcuffs, as a 32-year-old Miami man accused of charging a police officer with a Japanese sword appeared remotely from his hospital bed on Thursday. Barry Joshua Bienaime, who was shot after police say he confronted staff at a Biscayne Boulevard car dealership and then ran toward a Miami Shores officer, was ordered held without bond while investigators continue to sort out what happened.
Online jail records list Bienaime on attempted murder and drug-paraphernalia charges. Miami-Dade County Judge Mindy Glazer ordered that he be held without bond and barred from returning to the dealership if he is eventually released, according to Local 10. The brief court appearance played out while Bienaime remained hospitalized from wounds suffered in the June 21 confrontation.
How the shooting unfolded
Miami Shores police say employees at the Tropical Chevrolet showroom called 911 after spotting a man carrying large edged weapons. Officers later encountered the man near Northeast 86th Street and Biscayne Boulevard.
According to surveillance and police accounts, the man left the dealership, unsheathed a blade and struck the rear windshield of a vehicle. He then walked back across Biscayne Boulevard and charged at a patrol officer, at which point the officer opened fire and the man was hit. The injured man was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement opened an independent investigation, as reported by CBS Miami.
Video and investigators' notes
Investigators say surveillance video shows Bienaime crossing five lanes of traffic while holding a sword, then turning and running toward officers before he is shot, according to Local 10. The arrest report describes the weapon as a katana and notes that officers found a scale, three grinders, rolling papers and a lighter among his belongings.
What comes next
Bienaime's first appearance in bond court played out from his hospital room, where Judge Glazer again ordered that he be held without bond and restricted from returning to the dealership if he is released. The FDLE will complete its independent review, and prosecutors will then decide whether to file formal charges as investigators continue gathering evidence, authorities said, according to the Miami Herald. Officials have not yet released body camera footage or the complete arrest package to the public.
